


Unless It Was For a Reason

by Rinku17



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Betrayal, Forgiveness, Gen, Hurt Peter, Iron dad and Spider son, Mainly Peter Parker and Tony Stark's Father-Son Relationship, May Never Found Out About Peter Being Spiderman, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Please Read The Summaries If You Are Confused on Later Chapter Settings, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is Peter's father, Updates Can Be Irregular
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-06-20 20:11:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15542079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinku17/pseuds/Rinku17
Summary: Attachments and emotions were never his strong suit. Sure, he cares for Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and of course the Avengers, he knows it. But ever since Peter comes into his life after Berlin, Tony begins to experience feelings that he can’t quite understand until now.After the events of Peter’s homecoming dance and the Vulture, the high school vigilante and billionaire spend more time together. As their mentor relationship develops further, astonishing news finds its way to Tony. What he finds out leaves him in utter shock.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on this fandom as well as on AO3. Please bear with any mistakes as I am new to this type of thing. The father-son dynamic between Tony Stark and Peter Parker in the MCU as well as on this site caught my attention to the point I decided to write about it myself.
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

“2:55...” Tony says as he looks down at his watch. He just parked by Peter’s school waiting to pick him up to go to the compound for the weekend. Ever since the homecoming event, Tony has been more insistent on being present for whatever plans he made involving Peter, even going so far as to be his personal chauffeur whenever the “need for an over-glorified uber” arose as Happy likes to call it.

Whether Tony did it out of protectiveness or some hidden desire to spend time with the kid was “debatable” as the genius would say when his friends asked. To him, it was both.

Luckily May, a.k.a, Aunt Hottie is more than happy to let Peter spend time with his mentor. It’s no secret that May isn’t really a big fan of him, especially after Peter lost the “Stark Internship” the first time. But ever since Ben died, Peter hasn’t been able to be truly happy at school or at home until Tony came in.

As long as Peter was happy, that was all that mattered to his aunt. Though Tony never admitted it, he was truly grateful for how good a person May was.

Tony picks up his phone, sends a quick text to the kid letting him know he’s waiting outside.

_(Peter: I’ll be outside faster than I can deactivate instant-kill. Thanks Mr. Stark.)_

_(Tony: 98% sure I was drunk when I installed that setting, anyways no problem kid.)_

As the bell rang, Tony turned towards the school’s front doors, keeping an eye out for Peter. A few seconds later, the familiar young vigilante comes walking down towards his car, though something seems off and Tony is quick to notice.

Peter climbs in the passenger seat and greets his mentor with a grin. Despite his happy-go-lucky demeanor, Tony suspects that there is more than Peter wants to let on, not knowing how he knows but being Tony Stark he wants to find out why and fix it for the kid.

“You’re here a little early, last time it was 2:56.” Peter says with a false cheeky tone.

“What can I say, records are meant to be broken. Anyway you all set and ready to go?” Tony replies with a chuckle.

“You bet Mr. Stark! Let’s-” Peter tries to say but ends up cracking his last statement.

“Something wrong Pete?” Tony inquires, deeming the question appropriate now. Getting to know Peter over the months, Tony has learned that his pupil struggles with internal problems, but he doesn’t normally like to talk about them unless he brings it up or if he finds himself in a position where he unintentionally lets his emotions affect others.

Even though he’s never directly said it to the kid, Tony cares when there’s something wrong with Peter whether it’s physically or mentally. Though he would never force the kid to talk if he didn’t want to.

“Nothing Mr. Stark, I’m fine just choked on my gum” Peter lies, terribly too.

Tony gives him a look, an idea coming up.

“Alright Pete, whatever you say. But I know you weren’t chewing gum, you’re breath smells like garlic bread.” Tony casually says, trying to hide a grin once he notices Peter blushing.

“It’s a new flavor! You should tr-” He chokes on his words again, promptly sighing in defeat.

_“Bingo.”_ Tony thinks in his head. Although he would never force the kid to talk, he never said he wouldn’t trick him.

_“I can’t believe my first thought was bingo, that was criminal.”_ Tony says in his head. Ignoring his thoughts, he focuses on Peter waiting for his next words.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” Peter says in a somewhat more monotonic voice that’s almost scary. Considering it’s Peter, who usually carries happy, mad, or sad tones depending on the conversation, even Tony finds it kind of unnerving.

“Today’s the day my parents died.” Peter says, almost cracking at the end. Tony gives him a look of understanding, then beckons him to continue.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to ruin you- our day. Besides it’s always been a bad topic with the family especially when Uncle Ben was still…” Peter trails off, not sure if he should continue.

Tony doesn’t say anything, he understands that silence is important when listening to someone and right now that is what Peter needed. He looks at the kid, making a face telling him that it’s okay to talk about it.

Unfortunately, Peter tends to jump the gun in the wrong ways.

“I’m sorry Mr. Stark, I didn’t mean to put this on you. You have enough to handle as it is especially with me as Spiderman, it’s not fair for me to talk about this. It’s okay if you don’t want to take me to the compound this weekend, I can leave if you want.” Peter states sadly.

Tony doesn’t even hesitate, immediately he grabs Peter’s shoulder reassuringly and gives him a fond look.

“Peter, don’t worry about me when it comes to you. I know I’ve never said it, but I care about you a lot kiddo. If you have an issue with anything, and I mean anything, you can come to me, I could never turn away from you.” Tony says, with a tone of understanding in his voice.

Memories of taking Peter’s suit after the ferry incident and abandoning him come back, and he can’t help the feeling of disgust towards himself at his hypocrisy. Tony mentally shakes off the feeling as to not worry the kid.

Peter smiles at his mentor, tears threatening to fall as the boy tries to compose himself. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

“Thank you Mr. Stark. Everything you’ve done for me so far means so much, you’re the best fath- mentor! You’re the best mentor I could ask for!” Peter ends quickly, returning to his usual hyperactive character, promptly blushing immediately after.

Tony can’t help the amusement as well as the swell of pride building up inside him as he heard the last statement.

_“Does he really think of me as a father figure?”_ Tony wonders in his mind, feeling proud that he means that much to someone he tries hard for. He’s never considered himself the paternal type, sure he knows how to be appropriate and to try to keep kids out of harm's way but never has he felt the paternal urges to protect and nurture the young generation. But with Peter being more involved in his life now, Tony feels more confident that he’s understanding what being a parent feels like, and he likes this feeling.

“No problem kiddo, I really do give my best for you and that’s because I want the best for you. And please, call me Tony, Mr. Stark is for someone old like my dad.” Tony says with a hint of his usual haughty tone.

“But you are old “Tony”, compared to me anyway, I’ve seen the grey hairs. About time someone young and handsome take the stage.” Peter says jokingly, trying to imitate what he imagines is a younger version of his mentor.

“First off, ouch. Second, bad impression of me Pete.” Tony says jokingly, ruffling Peter’s hair while doing so.

“Anyway, do you still wanna talk about it? It’s fine if you don’t want to, just whenever you’re ready. We can still go to the compound and do whatever we want if you’re good?” Tony offers.

“Nah, I think I’m fine. I got it off my chest and it helped so yeah.” Peter said before pausing.

“But I have a favor to ask now that I brought this up if it’s okay?” he asks.

Tony smiles and pats his shoulder reassuring him that anything is fine with him . “Shoot.” Tony says.

“Can we… Can we go to where… Where they’re you know… Resting?” Peter asks with a hopeful tone.

“Of course kiddo. Do you want to pick up May first before we go?” Tony offers.

“Nah it’s okay, she’s very busy at work now that they’ve promoted her and plus I don’t want to add more stress on her by bringing this up. But… I just… I need this Tony… I haven’t come to see them ever since the funeral and it’s been aching me every anniversary that passed.” Peter says, a single tear dropping down his eye.

“Can we please not tell May about this? I don’t want to make her sad, but I do need this.” he asks hopefully.

Tightening his grip on Peter’s shoulder, Tony says, “For you kid, anything.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is there as support as Peter finally tries to gain closure for his parents passing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter of my first fic on AO3: "Unless It Was For a Reason"
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

The drive to the cemetery was… quiet to say the least. Under normal circumstances, quiet would’ve been brushed off just as it was, normal.

 

However when the passenger of your car might as well be the youngest and most over excited member of the Avengers, not being able to catch your breath for a second would be considered normal. This would be Tony and Peter right now if it weren’t for their destination, with the genius focusing intently on the road in tow with an unusually quiet teenager.

 

While Tony was staring at the road, not focusing his thoughts on anything in particular, he dared a glance to his right. Peter lay his head against the window, looking ahead with the most emotionally flushed face Tony has seen from the boy, almost as if he had just seen a ghost. It bothered Tony deeply and he was beginning to question if it was smart to drive any further. 

 

Just to even say quiet was generous. This however, was purely unsettling. And every minute they spent getting closer to the place, Tony could swear that Peter’s skin was gradually getting lighter and lighter to a very unnatural pale. 

 

Tony finally decides to break the silence, he says “Peter? Hey Pete?”

 

He glances once more at Pete, the kid is in some sort of daze. Tony takes the risk, he taps Peter on the shoulder, catching the boy’s attention as he grunts, though he does not turn to face his mentor.

 

“Yeah Tony?” Peter asks, very monotonically. .

 

“You alright there kiddo? You’re not car sick are you?” Tony asks, concern laced in his voice.

 

“Huh? Oh no, it’s nothing Mr. Sta-... Tony, I’m fine let’s keep going.” Peter stated with the most robotic voice Tony ever heard out of the kid.

 

Now Tony was really worried, he pulled up to the side before attempting to reach out to the boy.

 

“I’m just gonna check your forehead okay?” Tony asks, promptly feeling Peter’s head and then checking his pulse for good measure.

 

“Well you certainly aren’t burning or freezing up, and your pulse is just fine. Care to share with the class Pete?” Tony asks, more as a demand rather than a suggestion.

 

Peter looks at him, stares him down before sighing in defeat for the second time today. “I’m physically fine Tony, emotionally I’m not.” Peter states slowly as if to alleviate confusion.

 

“Not that I don’t understand why you’d be emotionally beat, but I don’t understand how this involves your current…” Tony grabs Peter’s arm “condition.”

 

Peter looks at his arm, then at Tony before pausing to form an explanation. 

 

“To be completely honest with you, I really have no idea what this is, I just know that it started happening soon after I got my powers, it only happens when I feel my most lowest… like when Ben...” Peter pauses, allowing his mentor to process the information.

 

Peter continues “To the touch I’m physically fine, but for some reason to me my body just feels shut down, doesn’t make sense I know, and it only happens sometimes when I have extreme emotional discomfort, not all the time though. As for the skin color, I guess it’s the only real physical proof that my emotions connect to this ‘condition.’” 

 

“Don’t worry about it Tony. I’ll be fine soon, I swear.” Peter states bluntly.

 

Tony just looks at Peter for a good minute, not taking offense to the sudden change in Peter’s attitude. He just nods in understanding, or at least as much as he can understand about the boy’s powers. It wasn’t his place to scold Peter in this situation, even the kid was still trying to figure out the extent of his abilities.

 

He faces toward the road once again, and the two continue onward.

 

_ “A side effect of his powers. Poor kid. That’s probably why he tries so hard to keep his emotions in check. Dammit… His powers were already a mixed blessing for him, as if that spider bite didn’t give him enough on his plate.”  _ Tony thinks while trying to maintain a straight face as best he could so Peter wouldn’t worry.

 

But still, even if that was the case, with Peter having his enhanced senses for so long it’s terrifying even for Tony to imagine struggling to be around others when his body is quite literally responsive to his emotional state. On the other hand, Tony can’t help but admire the strength this kid showed to keep it together for this long after all he’s been through, and it shows whenever he’s out there as Queen’s friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

 

Tony may have never had the easiest childhood, but hell, he had to admit Peter was far braver and stronger than he, and maybe even the other Avengers were growing up. The thought brings both pride and sadness to the mentor, knowing the kid accepted and powered through his ordeals to be a hero after losing so much of what little innocence he had left.

 

He swore to himself right then and there, for Peter’s sake, he’d do anything to make sure this kid was safe and happy. More than anyone Tony’s met, this kid truly deserved the best.

 

He decides to back off his futurist mentality to think about the here and now. The genius gathers a few options in his head.

 

Tony pondered that once Peter had cleared his conscience, they would either:

 

  1. Go get something to eat, preferably somewhere Peter wasn’t familiar to ensure he didn’t accidentally go to one his parents might have taken him to before… Well let’s not go there.
  2. Go back to the compound where Tony will be probably rustle something to eat for him and his young ward. If Tony can build cutting edge technology from a box of scraps he can make a simple omelette right?
  3. If neither of them show an appetite, they’ll tinker as long as they need down in Tony’s lab. It worked for Tony, albeit in a unhealthy way, hopefully they would have better luck with Peter.



 

As Tony decided these were viable activities for him and Peter once their trip was cleared, he took another glance at the young spiderling. To his surprise, Peter was actually starting to show some color, and his face looked more lit up than it did five minutes ago.

 

Peter looks at Tony, but then shamely looks down. Tony furrows his eyes in confusion.

 

“What’s wrong kiddo?” Tony offers.

 

“I was a jerk wasn’t I? I’m so sorry Mr. Stark, I didn’t mean to give you an attitude.” Peter says as he turns his head towards the window before closing his eyes shut.

 

It didn’t bother Tony one bit that Peter treated him that way, he knew something was going on with his head and he knew that the kid didn’t mean it. Not like Tony had any cool bio strength powers like Spiderboy here.

 

Instead of forgiving, as if he felt the need to, he instead smirked before jokingly saying “You know, you actually looked older than me there. God I thought I was gonna have to find the nearest retirement home.” 

 

Peter turns his head, clearly amused, and he grins widely at his mentor. 

 

Tony grinned back,  _ “I meant it that I care about you Peter, I’d never find it in my heart to hate you.” _ the thought runs through his mind before he turns his attention back to the road.

 

The cemetery comes into view minutes later, after experiencing “puberty 2.0” as Tony officially dubbed it, Peter walks through the gate. With a mix of confidence and nervousness, Peter walks past the graves with Tony in tow, the twitching in the kid’s legs very obvious to Tony.

 

Tony debated and fought against asking what the names of Peter’s parents were throughout the whole trip, let alone asking what happened to them. He eventually decided that he would wait till he saw the headstones so as to not give Peter anymore anxiety. 

 

Eventually Peter stopped in his tracks, immediately followed by Tony. The older man peers over the kid’s shoulders to see the names of the two headstones next to each other. 

 

_ “Richard and Mary Parker… Mary eh?”  _ Tony thinks, his attention drawn to the name Mary. He remembers having a brief relation-affair-one-night-stand or whatever it can be called then with a woman named Mary. At least, Tony thinks he remembered her name being Mary. Booze works wonders for memory loss, even for geniuses. 

 

Tony quickly realizes how insensitive he’s acting and mentally slaps himself before returning his attention to Peter. It doesn’t take him a split second to realize something is very wrong with the kid. 

 

**Two minutes earlier...**

 

_ “This is it, this is it. It’s time for me to properly give my goodbyes to you guys.”  _ Peter thinks to himself, with his eyes closed as he stands in front of the graves of his parents.

 

_ “Mom, I’m pretty sure I’ve said it many times to you as a kid, but I love you. I know you’ve done your best to make sure I felt loved when you were around. Don’t worry about me up there, I’m doing great here, I have a mentor who’s guided me so well throughout my teen adventures. He spends time with me and… Well I don’t know, he really looks out for my best interest. It’s strange mom, all my life even when you guys were still alive, the only parental love I knew came from you. I never really realized how much I wanted a father figure until Mr. Stark- I mean Tony came around. Uncle Ben was always Uncle Ben to me, and Aunt May was always Aunt May, and that was how we liked it, and I know I love them as much as they love me. I don’t know, maybe I’m being selfish and I’m really sorry but I just hope that you’re proud of me for who I am and who I choose to be… Even if it’s not exactly the safest thing in the world... I know I already said it, but I love you, thank you for giving me a chance in this world to shape my future... I guess I’ll see you up there one day hopefully when the time is right… Goodbye mom.”  _ Peter ends his thoughts, feeling wetness on his cheek before turning to his thoughts to the other grave. His hands quickly clench into tight fists.

 

_ “Richard…” _ Peter thinks angrily, before he realizes it he opens his eyes and is momentarily distracted by the stones in front of him. 

 

Stones…. Concrete. Building. Crushed. Screaming. Wheezing. Helplessness. 

 

As these words creep into Peter’s mind, he is suddenly reminded of that night he almost died by the hands of the Vulture. The pain of being crushed under the weight of broken pillars and concrete suddenly jolt through Peter’s body. The blood curdling screams erupting through his mind as he tries to push them away. Suddenly, he feels the same sense of vulnerability as he did when he had lost all hope in escaping his painful torment. Back into reality, Peter’s body begins to shake into a violent seizure as his mentor desperately tries in vain to calm the boy’s tremors.

 

Suddenly Peter sees two much larger stone slabs falling downward to the ground. Where they have landed, is what truly become his worst nightmare. His parents lie motionless on the ground in front of him, as their bodies are slowly crushed by the pressing weights over their torsos. 

 

“Peter… help me…” Mary wheezes out before the slab over her topples over crushing her head.

 

Peter turns away, crying uncontrollably before turning to the man still breathing, trying to reach his hand towards his now dead wife. He turns his head towards Peter with a hateful glare.

 

“You are... nothing Peter… nothing… but… a bastard child… No one could… lov-” his reprimanding of the boy is cut short as his head is immediately crushed in the same manner as his wife.

 

Peter clamps his ears shut with his hands and forcefully shuts his eyes as he can now only hear the deep hateful voice of the man repeating his last words over and over again while the thundering booms of falling slabs keep attacking at the spiderling’s over sensitive eardrums.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!!!!! Please… stop… please… Richard… Mom ” Peter crys, begging for it to just end.

 

Unbeknownst to Peter, his seizure fit has just ended, leaving him quietly whimpering as his mentor holds him tight.

 

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…mom…. I’m so sorry…  Richard… Why... why do you... hate me?” Peter sobs, not knowing that Tony is there hugging him close to his chest rubbing circles around his back while the other against the back of the boy’s head. Tony rocks them back and forth on the grass, murmuring soothing whispers in attempt to shush the distressed teen.

 

As Peter finally calms down and fall asleep, Tony carries the boy bridal style towards his car. He drives back to the compound, without telling May the details as she had already agreed Peter would stay with him anyway. The last thing he wanted was to cause Peter to panic because his aunt was panicking. By the time Tony has reached the compound, it’s already hit night time and he decided it was best to take Peter to his room.

 

Carefully, Tony sets the boy down on his bed, cradling his head as he slowly lowers it down into the pillow. The mentor decides to watch over Peter for over an hour before he decides that the kid is relaxed enough to be left alone.

 

Before he has the chance to turn away however, a relaxed but firm hand grips Tony’s arm. 

 

“Don’t leave me too dad…” Peter mumbles in his sleep. Tony stares at the boy in awe at what he had just heard.

 

_ “He called me dad…”  _ Tony couldn’t help the grin on his face as he felt a knot on his throat. Composing himself, he allows himself to climb into the bed at the teenager’s side as he allows himself to fall asleep.

 

Before he decides that he is tired enough to get two hours of sleep, he glances over at Peter, who is sound asleep and much more relaxed than the Tony has seen him all day. 

 

He gives Peter a small smile before raising his arm over him protectively, holding the boy close to his chest. 

 

“Don’t worry kiddo, I’m not going anywhere.” Tony quietly whispers, so to not wake Peter.

 

Tony’s thoughts wander a bit into today’s events. One thing that stuck out was how Peter talked about his father.

 

_ “Why would Peter call his father by his first name? And why would he say that his father hated him?”   _ Tony wonders, subconsciously reminiscing his own relationship with his father before pushing the thoughts away.

 

_ “How could anyone hate this kid? I lo-” _   his thoughts are cut off by Peter’s soft snore as the boy cradles closer into Tony’s chest.

 

He decided for Peter’s sake to that this would have to wait till tomorrow. His eyes opened and closed repetitively, taking care to make sure Peter was safe by his side.

 

Tony slowly but surely drifted off to sleep, never letting go of the boy in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony decides to confront Peter regarding yesterday’s incident at the cemetery. What Tony learns ends up further solidifying their bond.
> 
> **Note: Peter does not remember having the Vulture flashback with his parents.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little fluff chapter. I took the suggestion from a reader in comments from an earlier chapter.
> 
> Comment: 
> 
> "I have a suggestion if you want it. What about creating a chapter about Tony’s curiosity as to why Peter called his dad “Richard” and he starts to open up to him?"
> 
> Slightly tweaked the idea, but I fluffed it up to make up for the violent little bloodbath that was Chapter 2.
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

Tony stirred after feeling motion in the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, his attention turned to the teenage superhero getting more comfortable in his sleep.

 

Moving slowly not to wake the kid up, Tony slowly tries to get up before remembering what he promised the kid last night just before he fell asleep.

 

_ “Don’t worry kiddo, I’m not going anywhere.” _ Tony replays in his head, a small tug on his lip as he looks down at the boy.

 

“Well, can’t break a promise to you can I?” Tony whispers, sitting down at the edge of the bed after pulling out his Stark Phone to check on any updates.

 

A soft rumble can be heard behind Tony, and he can hear Peter mumble about ‘pizza time’. With a light chuckle Tony is already on it.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y?” Tony calls to the A.I.

 

“Yes sir?” The A.I. quickly inquires.

 

“Order the kid his usual from Pizza Hut, and while you’re at it get me one of those cheesy bite things I’ve been hearing about from Clint.” Tony orders.

 

“You got it boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y says.

 

Meanwhile Tony decides to get dressed for the day. He calls DUM-E to grab him some clothes from his wardrobe, while Tony decides to take a shower in the bathroom adjacent to Peter’s room. By the time he returns, Peter is stretching and just staring at Tony with a neutral expression.

 

Deciding he had enough silence for one weekend, Tony speaks up.

 

“Sleep well Pete?” Tony asks.

 

“Yeah just a little hungry is all, think we can get pizza?” Peter inquired.

 

“Way ahead of you kiddo.” Tony said, before walking up to ruffle the kid’s bed hair.

 

“You good Pete?” Tony asks, not out of concern just idle curiosity.

 

Peter contemplates the question for a second. He’s not sure he remembers what happened yesterday. First he was saying his goodbye to his mom, then Richard… Oh God, just thinking of that guy makes Peter’s stomach churn, and not out of hunger either.

 

Tony seems to notice Peter’s discomfort before pressing a hand over the kid’s shoulder.

 

“It’s nothing Mr. Stark, just trying to remember what happened yesterday.” Peter casually says.

 

Now it’s Tony’s stomach that churns, yesterday was not a time he would ever like to relive. The thought of seeing Peter in that situation disturbed Tony far worse than any panic attack would. He wasn’t sure what to tell the kid, but he sure as hell didn’t want to explain that the kid had a seizure and not be able to provide an explanation.

 

“Nothing Pete.” Tony says, monotonically.

 

“You can tell me you know, I can tell by your tone something happened.” Peter says, looking at his mentor with a hopeful look.

 

Tony turns his head to face Peter’s direction, sighing deeply before saying anything.

 

“You had a seizure.” Tony says, slowly as to not surprise Peter.

 

“What?” Peter asks, shocked.

 

“Please don’t make me repeat it kid.” Tony states with sadness in his voice.

 

“But why though?” Peter inquires.

 

“That’s the kicker Pete, why indeed? Though I think I can venture guesses unless you’re willing to give me some insight yourself.” Tony tells Peter, gesturing the kid for answers.

 

Tony sits down on the bed next to Peter, “What do you remember?” Tony asks softly.

 

Peter thinks about that for a second, not wanting to bring up how Richard came to mind and the anger that followed, but after that it seemed to be a blur. “I remember saying goodbye to my parents, that’s it.” Peter says, hoping Tony would believe it. Cause honestly, that was the truth.

 

Feeling like he won’t get anywhere unless he brings up what he knows, Tony proceeds, “I can tell mom wasn’t so bad, but how about dad? Or should I say Richard?” Tony says, hoping to get something out of Pete.

 

While Peter was staring at him, Tony didn’t fail to notice the kid’s eyes dilating at the mention of the man. 

 

“I won’t make you talk about it if you don’t want to kid, but I’m giving you an idea of what I gleaned from yesterday, just letting you know that.” Tony says, not trying to pry into the kid like he was Nick Fury.

 

Peter sighs, “Might as well as let it out then.” 

 

Tony nods, this is good, he’s coming out with it on his own.

 

Peter raises his fingers in a quoting motion, “My “dad” and I didn’t have a great relationship, let me start with that.” Peter starts, then looks at Tony who only gives him the okay to continue.

 

“He was the worst person to raise a kid, at least to me anyways. My whole childhood he’s been verbally and physically abusive, and he never hesitated to make me feel like I was worthless and that my mom wasted her life on me.” Peter says, pain starting to lace in his tone.

 

Tony looks down, feeling nothing but empathy towards Peter. It was a lot like what he had to go through growing up as Howard’s son. He places an arm over the kid’s shoulder, reassuring him that he’s not judging him and that he’s actually listening. 

 

“Growing up, I always thought he was “dad”, and because of that I always thought that it was me who was the problem. Turns out, years later after they died, I learned that Richard actually was never my father to begin with.” Peter says, anger starting to replace his sorrow.

 

“How’d you find that out?” Tony tries to ask suggestively.

 

Peter looks at Tony straight in the face before finally saying, “Because both my parents eyes were blue, and from what I know about bio that’s a recessive gene.” 

 

Tony looks at the kid's eyes as it dawns on him, Peter had brown eyes. “Not to mention that he would frequently call me a bastard child, obviously as a kid I wouldn’t know what that means besides as a swear but here I am now I know what he meant.” Peter finally ends, some relief showing as he got that out of his chest.

 

Tony can’t help the mixture of anger, pain, and sadness at hearing the boy’s story. Sure Howard was a horrible father, but he never once lied to him about anything to do with their relation.

 

And here Peter was, coping with the fact that he’s been lied to his whole life and still had to suffer because of it.

 

The single teardrop from the boy’s eye is enough to make Tony move.

 

Before Peter even realizes it, Tony is wrapping one arm around the kid’s back and the other around the back of his head, holding him in a comforting hug just as he did yesterday. 

 

Peter begins to cry freely, taking in the newfound comfort that was his mentor.

 

“Shh, shh, shh, it’s okay Pete, it’s okay, just let it out buddy.” Tony says rocking them back and forth. 

 

“I’m sorry that I’m such a disappointment…” Peter says quietly. Tony only squeezes the boy tighter.

 

“No, no, Pete… Don’t apologize, and don’t ever think you are a disappointment believe me. You are the exact opposite of a disappointment. You’re very smart, resourceful, and you have the potential to achieve great things, hell you may even own Stark Industries one day.” Tony lets out, not because it would make Peter feel better, but because it’s what Peter deserved, and what he deserved was the best. 

 

Peter pauses, “Do you really mean that?” 

 

Tony doesn’t even hesitate, “Of course kiddo, every last word.” The response he gets is even better than he expected. Peter tightened his grip and snuggled deeper into his mentor’s chest.

 

“Thanks da-Tony! You’re da best Tony!” Peter exclaims, his whole face turns into a tomato.

 

Tony chuckles at the kid’s embarrassment, but his heart swelled at the fact that Peter almost willingly called him dad. Deep down he wanted to acknowledge this paternal dynamic with the boy, and even though it seemed Peter wanted it too, Tony didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

 

He thought too soon.

 

“I never met my real father, nor do I know who he is. But if I did, I’d want him to be just like you Tony.” Peter sheepishly admitted. 

 

Never has Tony felt happier at someone’s words, the kid basically admitted how he feels about him. Without hesitating Tony ruffles Peter’s hair before sighing contently.

 

“Ya know what Peter? I think Richard is the textbook definition of an idiot. If you asked me, anyone would be proud to be your dad.” Tony said with a genuine smile. 

 

Peter didn’t even have to ask if he was telling the truth, he could just tell by Tony’s face.

 

Smiling contently at his mentor, he was about to say something when his stomach rumbled loudly.

 

Tony chuckles, before putting an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “Good thing I ordered in advance yeah? Don’t worry, I know what you wanted kiddo.” Tony says, humorously.

 

Peter smiles again at Tony, then wraps his arm around his waist, looking forward to just spending the day with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spending the rest of the weekend in peace with Peter, Tony decides to investigate further into Peter’s episode at the cemetery. 
> 
> While trying to find answers, Tony quickly learns that his investigation has only led to even more unanswered questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to keep you guys waiting! As I said in the comments on Chapter 3, I had a bad case of writers block, kinda glad I did cause this one's beefier in length than the previous Chapters.
> 
> Enjoy! And as always constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

Weekends between mentor and student has been a set routine. Tony picks up Peter from school to go to the Avengers compound, the two then head down to the lab to tinker on current projects like upgrading Peter’s suit or Tony’s various armors. After all said and done, they order takeout from whatever it is their pallets crave, with Peter usually being the one to decide given he has the biggest appetite. They then proceed to engage in some form of entertainment whether it’s movie night in the living room, going out to the city and exploring, or even just Tony helping Peter with his academics and preparing for his decathlon competition.

 

This weekend, for the most part, hasn’t been any different given the recent events from the cemetery. In fact, Tony and Peter had been acting as usual so well that it was as if that episode never happened in the first place.

 

Right here and now, Tony is downstairs in his lab with Peter as they work on improving the spiderling’s web shooters.

 

“I had this idea for awhile with my web shooters. It’s not an additional web setting, well maybe it is, I’ll let you decide.” Peter said sheepishly as Tony was exporting the files installed in the web shooters into F.R.I.D.A.Y’s servers so they can alter the programming as they please.

 

The genius notices the awkwardness in his voice and then smirks at the kid.  “It’s nothing inappropriate for when you’re older right? Have you had the birds and the bees talk yet kiddo? Tony says with a chuckle, taking joy in privately embarrassing Peter whenever the chance comes.

 

Peter gives Tony a confused look, realization strikes and his face immediately turns red as a tomato.

 

“What?! No! Tony that’s gross, I’m not even into that kind of thing!” Peter rants, then pauses before continuing calmly. “And you would know about being appropriate? Seriously, you basically put a murder setting in a minor’s suit.” Peter ends cheekily.

 

“Hey on my defense, that was an advanced setting for after I deemed you were ready to take the next step with that suit.” Tony retaliates with humor in his voice, having fun with their little “argument”.

 

“I’m not a kid Tony.” Peter says a little offended.

 

“So you’re not a kid, but you’re a minor?” Tony asks with the same humor as before.

 

Peter only looks down ashamed and defeated, making it obvious that the only one having fun now was Tony. The genius immediately places both hands on the kid’s shoulders before continuing.

 

“Hey Pete, I was only kidding around. I was just having a little fun there okay?” Tony says calmly, trying to bring the kid’s spirits back up.

 

Peter only looks at his mentor and grins.

 

“Gotcha Tony! I swear, I should consider being an actor.” Peter replies, humor in his voice now.

 

“No swearing you little…” Tony was about to end with a swear, and knowing how Peter would likely reply he was not ready to enter the battlefield again.

 

Wanting to just get back to the main topic, Tony proceeds to ask Peter about his idea. “Anyway, what was that idea of yours kiddo?” he asks.

 

Peter chuckles at his mentor before answering. “Well, I was wondering if we could find a way to install a miniaturized pressure reactor in my web shooters. The idea is to pre install the organic chemicals needed to produce my webbing into a mini-storage unit which will flow through the reactor via a carrier fluid when needed. Then the reaction will proceed under superheated conditions and a manganese dioxide catalyst in order to lower the amount of hydrogen peroxide by-product.” Peter says quickly.

 

He pauses and looks at his mentor, who only gives him the go to continue.

 

“My goal is to reduce the need of reinstalling prepared web fluid solutions into my wrists so that I am less likely to run out of webbing in dire situations. My web shooters will basically be able to self produce its own webbing for a certain amount of time, all at the press of a button to raise the pressure if we can get it to work.” Peter ends, motioning his fingers in a similar manner as if he were about to fire a web.

 

The kid gives him a hopeful look, Tony grins at him before speaking up.

 

“Pete, your creativeness never fails to amaze me. It’s as I said before, you’re a very resourceful kid, and I know you’re gonna reach even greater heights as you grow older.” Tony ends affectionately.

 

Peter smiles softly at the compliment, grateful that his mentor appreciates and praises his input on these matters.

 

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s get to work.” Tony states, the fondness in his voice never leaving.

 

**Later that day...**

 

Tony and Peter worked on the web shooters persistently for hours, with their combined intellects the mechanical aspect of the project went quicker than it would’ve had a normal team of engineers made the attempt.

 

“Okay, now that’s all said and done, we just need to input the data into K.A.R.E.N’s protocols.” Tony stated, before looking at Peter who had exhaustion written all over his face.

 

As Peter’s eyes drooped, Tony spoke up. “Well it is getting pretty late. How about I order takeout, and if you’re still feeling up to it we’ll watch a movie, if not early bedtime for you. Sound good Pete?”

 

Peter yawned, then proceeded with a thumbs up. Tony chuckled at the response, then proceeded to guide Peter by the shoulder back upstairs.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y order the usual Thai food alright?” Tony asks the A.I.

 

“Sure thing boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y obliges.

 

Later on, after the two have finished their meal, Pete asks if they can at least watch his favorite Star Wars movie… for the third time in a row since last week. Tony reluctantly agrees and puts the movie on after placing the kid comfortably on the couch with a blanket on top of him for good measure.

 

Not even an hour into the film, Peter is about dead on the couch. Tony just continues to watch the movie in amusement of the situation, only when he finds the kid drooling on his furniture does the genius decide to put an end to it.

 

“Alright that’s enough of that, time for bed kiddo.” Tony says quietly, picking up the kid and then guiding him to his room. After placing Peter in a comfortable position in the bed, Tony gives a quiet good night before deciding to go down to his lab to tinker for a bit.

 

Peter shuffles then grunts in his sleep, grabbing Tony’s attention before he’s out the door.

 

“Hey… remember my birthdays… next week alright?” Peter states drowsily as he tries to raise his head up.

 

Tony lightly chuckles at the kid’s behavior. “Of course Peter, wouldn’t miss it for anything. I promised you last week remember?” he tells him reassuringly.

 

“Okay… Thanks.” Peter states simply, before dropping his head back into his pillow.

 

“Alright Pete, go back to sleep okay? I’ll see you in the morning.” Tony says, humor in his tone.

 

“Okay… Love you dad…” Peter says, almost too quietly but did not fail to meet the genius’s ears.

 

Tony turns his head quickly, facing the kid with wide eyes, quickly softening as his face turns into a small grin. He quietly walks back to the boy’s bed, before contemplating his next decision.

 

 _“Ah what the hell... He’s under my watch anyway.”_ Tony thinks to himself before he brushes the boy’s hair from his forehead to press a light kiss on his temple.

 

“Love you too son… Sleep well.” Tony says softly, smiling down at the boy before he feels something wet threaten to escape his eyes. He wipes at it quickly, then gives a small laugh at himself.

 

 _“You’ve made me real soft kid. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”_ Tony ends his thought there, then he makes it downstairs to his lab, with pressing matters awaiting him.

 

Down at his lab, Tony goes through his computer, in conversation with F.R.I.D.A.Y trying to find answers for questions that came into light this weekend, mainly about why Peter experienced his seizure.

 

“Alright let’s get to the bottom of this. F.R.I.D.A.Y replay the auto-visual recording from yesterday at around 5:30 p.m.” Tony says, clapping his hands together simultaneously.

 

“On it boss.” the A.I. says courtly, as she analyzes through Tony’s sunglasses to find the clip with the appropriate time setting. Like Peter’s Spiderman mask, Tony designed a piece of wear, albeit simpler, so that he can record everything he sees and be able to go through it later. Right now he’s using it to his advantage to hopefully help Peter.

 

Feeling dread at what he has to relive, Tony places his clapped hands on his mouth, mentally preparing himself for what’s to come.

 

 _“When it happened, I was in a state of shock, just focusing on trying to calm the kid down. Now that I’m calm myself I should be able to carefully look into and figure out what really happened.”_ Tony thinks, with a determined expression laced on his face, the thought of Peter quickly entering his mind.

 

 _“I’m doing this for you kiddo, I promise that I’ll be more ready next time, forbid that happens.”_ he ends there, now staring intently at the screen in front of him.

 

The video begins to play, just showing Tony walking behind Peter, in the frame Peter’s legs twitch as he walks, just as Tony noted when it actually happened. Seeing that he can’t glean anything from this section of the video to provide an explanation, Tony proceeds further in, right in the second where they stop at his parents headstones.

 

Considering he was behind Peter the whole time, Tony regrets that he wasn’t at least standing next to him before it happened. That way if there were some hints that showed on his face, he could of took note of those as well.

 

 _“It is what it is.”_ Was all Tony could think before something on the screen catches his attention.

 

Right before Peter’s body gives and collapses to the ground, promptly shaking violently after, Tony notices the way the kid’s arms raise over his head, almost as if he’s shielding himself… If so, from what?

 

Peter throws quick punches in various directions, almost as if he were blocking projectiles falling in his direction, then he motions his hands as if he were trying to shoot a web and swing away. This only confuses Tony even more.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, any idea of what’s happening to Peter here?” Tony asks, the concern obvious in his tone.

 

“Currently there is nothing in my memory relating to any events similar to this regarding Peter Parker.” the A.I. replies monotonically.

 

Tony sighs, leaning back on his chair before placing a hand over his forehead feeling a headache coming.

 

“Though there is nothing within my memory that would be of use, perhaps K.A.R.E.N could assist in this analysis.” F.R.I.D.A.Y states, as if sensing Tony’s frustration.

 

Tony lifts his hand, immediately feeling grateful for the A.I’s suggestion. “Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y, call K.A.R.E.N for me would you?” Tony asks.

 

“Sure thing, boss.” the A.I replies, before shutting down reverting Tony’s blue color themed screen to a simple white. Moments later, the screen converts to a more red and blue hue with a Spiderman logo prominent in the design, indicating Peter’s A.I is now online.

 

“How may I be of service Mr. Stark?” K.A.R.E.N asks, the politeness in her tone evident.

 

 _“Oh God, not that name again.”_ Tony thinks, grumbling at the title. He quickly pushes that aside and speaks.

 

“So that’s what you sound like, anyway I need to you to run through some visual recordings saved in your memory servers. Think you can do that for me?” Tony asks, demanding answers in a mildly haughty tone.

 

“Of course Mr. Stark. Please excuse my discourtesy, but may I ask the reason for this?” the A.I asks, ‘curiosity’ in her tone.

 

“Let’s just say that Mr. Parker needs a little assistance on a more ‘personal’ level. Anyways, on any visual recordings you run through, I would like you to narrow it down to anything related to seizures exhibited by our young spiderling.” Tony states, the determination returning in his voice.

 

“I will do my best sir.” the A.I states, before proceeding to analyze various files. After a good two minutes, K.A.R.E.N speaks up.

 

“It appears that I have nothing on my servers pertaining to any seizures with Peter.” the A.I. states. The frustration on Tony’s face returns, and he feels about ready to grab a wrench and throw it across the room. Before he has the chance to do so, K.A.R.E.N speaks up again.

 

“I do however, have data pertaining to sensory overloads exhibited by Peter during a few occasions as Spiderman.” K.A.R.E.N states, almost worriedly, artificially of course.

 

Tony’s face goes from frustrated to confused very quickly. “What do you mean by ‘sensory overload’?” Tony asks, with both concern and curiosity.

 

Instead of verbally replying, K.A.R.E.N shows a clip of Peter swinging around Queens before coming to a sudden stop at the sight of a concrete structure. Tony can only stare as Peter begins to exhibit a panic attack before it quickly turns into what he previously called a seizure.

 

The next few clips are very similar, only one happened where Peter was in the middle of a fight with a bank robber armed with a knife after following him into a broken down building. Tony’s heart dropped to his stomach as the criminal stood in front of the spiderling holding his weapon so dangerously close to Peter’s neck that he was afraid that just Peter swaying around would slit his throat against the blade’s contact.

 

Just as it seemed that Peter was done for, K.A.R.E.N quickly activated ‘Instant-Kill Mode’ and proceeded to shoot a miniaturized high powered repulsor blast from Peter’s chest piece. Both Peter and the robber were sent flying backwards in their respective directions at the sheer impulse. The camera was able to capture enough of the man shot to show a large gaping hole in his sternum.

 

Tony felt a mixed combination of guilt and relief after watching that, as well as horror. Guilt in that being the one who designed the suit, he basically forced Peter to take a life that night. His only relief was that Peter came out unharmed from that event. The horror was on Tony’s conscience, with the memory of taking ‘Westworld’s’ life in the plane using his chest RT coming back to him as he watched the frame with the hole in the robber’s chest. Tony quickly shock off the last feeling to return his mind back to the matters at hand.

 

“Does Peter remember taking a life that night?” Tony asks, hoping the answer was no.

 

“No, as far as my memory serves, Peter never hasn’t recalled that night once. I deactivated ‘Instant-Kill Mode’ once I deemed the threat eliminated. Peter was unconscious after his ‘sensory overload’ pacified so I was forced to activate his suits ‘Autopilot Mode’ to swing him away from the building as reasonably and minimally as possible. My apologies for not showing the footage depicting that suits function in use, I was only showing what was requested sir.” K.A.R.E.N states, trying to sound sympathetic.

 

“You’re fine K.A.R.E.N. Thank you for saving Peter that night.” Tony states, grateful that he programmed an A.I. for this reason.

 

“Anything for the young master sir.” the A.I states, more monotonic this time.

 

Tony realizes his breathing was beginning to abnormalize and proceeds his ‘relaxing routine’ for every time he felt a panic attack coming. Once he feels his chest evening out, he returns to the A.I.

 

“Well now that you showed me all that, I have more questions. My first being what do you mean exactly by ‘sensory overload’? How’s it any different from a seizure?” Tony asks, demandingly.

 

“Based on what I’ve gathered from Peter, and from past discussions we’ve had regarding these episodes, it seems that the extreme cases are only triggered when he is exposed to something that reminds him of intense trauma, mainly near death situations. Normally, triggers such as these induce panic attacks on people, but considering that Peter is an augmented person, they only amplify the effects on him physiologically and psychologically.” the A.I pauses, letting Tony take in the information before proceeding.

 

Before Tony has the chance to say something, K.A.R.E.N continues “It’s not quite a seizure, though understandable as to why it can mistaken as one at first glance, because when a person suffers from this their consciousness is still there. That’s not quite the case with Peter, as he enters a state between consciousness and subconsciousness, or enters his own ‘Inception’ as he calls it. And as far as my knowledge serves, Peter is the only known case of having hypersensitive physical and emotional reactions due to his enhanced senses. Therefore after experiencing various and different occurrences aside from his ‘seizures’, such as turning down the television volume to 2 since 6 was too loud or complaining about dim lights being too bright, we finally decided to call it a ‘sensory overload’.” the A.I states factly. Tony looks at his screen, trying to process this information.

 

The memory of Peter’s skin turning unnaturally white in the car returns to him, _“I wonder if that could be considered a ‘sensory overload’... Nevermind. Focus on the task at hand.”_ Tony thinks to himself before responding.

 

“You said that Peter gets triggered by near death situations, what kind of near death situations exactly, and how do they connect with whenever he’s exposed to buildings?” Tony asks, concern very obvious in his tone.

 

“Unfortunately, I do not have any video footage nor my own primary information saved in my memory to provide an explanation sir.” K.A.R.E.N states ‘sadly’.

 

“Then tell me what you do know!” Tony demands, frustration immediately replacing his concern.

 

Silence pervaded the room for a minute before the A.I spoke up “I wasn’t there when it happened, as it was during Peter’s homecoming dance, but we’ve had a few discussions where it came up. He insisted that I not tell you this, but you are my creator, so you have the power to override his word. Shall I continue sir?” the A.I asks, more robotically this time.

 

“Yes… please.” Tony stated, fearing he wouldn’t like what would come but was determined to push forward for Peter’s sake.

 

“After Peter’s first ‘sensory overload’, I asked him to tell me why he reacted the way he did. He told me that when he went to confront the Vulture, also known as Adrian Toomes, there was an incident during their battle that resulted in a building collapsing on Peter.” K.A.R.E.N states seriously, then proceeds to wait, allowing Tony to process the information before continuing.

 

“For minutes, Peter felt that he was going to die regretfully, knowing he wasn’t able to stop Toomes that night. But then, Peter had an epiphany, and he used it to push himself off the rubble and escape death before proceeding to end the Vulture’s scheme.” the A.I states then pauses, taking note of Tony’s panicked face before continuing.

 

“Can you guess what his epiphany was, what motivated him to not give up? It was you sir.” K.A.R.E.N states, sounding reassuringly to calm the genius’s mind.

 

“What? Me? How did I motivate him?" Tony asks confused.

 

“Remember what you told him right after the ferry incident?” the A.I states, as if the answer were obvious.

 

 _“How could I forget? I basically destroyed the kid’s dreams that day… But...”_ Tony thinks, pausing before realization strikes.

 

“If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” Tony states finally, to which K.A.R.E.N hums in agreement.

 

“Correct sir, because of you, he finally realized that Peter Parker and Spiderman are one. Before that he always thought Peter Parker was just a helpless child and that Spiderman was the real hero, but that night he proved to himself and to you as well that their strengths were the same.”  K.A.R.E.N states confidently.

 

Tony only looks at his screen, the emotional pain and guilt in his body being quickly replaced by a feeling of pride. Pride over the fact that he was the one who guided Peter into his first step at understanding what being a hero really meant.

 

The first tear begins to flow, after that Tony notices and puts an end to the waterfalls.

 

“Thanks K.A.R.E.N. Peter really deserves you, and you the same. Thank you for looking out for my boy.” Tony states, gratefully.

 

“You’re very welcome sir. But I do not understand your last statement, Peter isn’t your child correct?” K.A.R.E.N asks curiously.

 

Tony only rolls his eyes at the question. “Of course not K.A.R.E.N, it was just a… term of endearment.” he states sheepishly.

 

“Of course sir.” the A.I states casually.

 

Tony leans back on his chair, stretching his arms out and yawning before continuing “Well as much as I’d love to get some shut eye, there’s still one more question I need answered. Would you like to do the honors or would you like me to switch you over with F.R.I.D.A.Y?” Tony asks, almost feeling bad for putting K.A.R.E.N through enough crap for one night. Well then again, he was the boss.

 

“For you and Peter sir, anything.” K.A.R.E.N states courtly.

 

“I think I pretty much get the gist of why Peter experiences these things, but there’s one thing I still don’t get.” Tony states.

 

“And what would that be sir?” the A.I inquires.

 

“You told me that whenever Peter’s having a sensory overload like due to his ‘homecoming’ trauma, he goes into a fake ‘seizure’ with a mind between consciousness and subconsciousness, correct?” Tony asks, gradually returning to his usual haughty tone.

 

“Not my exact wording sir, but yes.” the A.I states.

 

“Where was Peter’s consciousness and subconsciousness while his body was spazzing out in the cemetery? I’m allowing you to access F.R.I.D.A.Y’s memory servers from my sunglasses if you need a little more to go on.” Tony asks, hoping to learn as much as he can despite his exhaustion.

 

After pausing to go through the video footage ran by F.R.I.D.A.Y earlier and going on further until they reached the compound that night, K.A.R.E.N speaks up.

 

“Based on what I understand about Peter, and from the new information I’ve gathered here, it would seem that his subconscious mind was focused on protecting him from falling pillars and rubble, which is what you saw sir. As for his consciousness, well I can not say I am 100% accurate, but I can say it was definitely focused on an intense stimulus in his mind between his father ‘Richard Parker’ and mother ‘Mary Fitzpatrick’ considering the circumstances. Paradoxical statements to say the least but-” K.A.R.E.N is immediately cut off by Tony’s voice.

 

“I’m sorry, but can you repeat his mother’s name…?” Tony asks, panic almost evident in voice.

 

“Mary Fitzpatrick sir, I can look up her bio as well as-” the A.I is cut off once again. “I thought her last name was Parker?” Tony asks, panic becoming more evident with confusion adding in.

 

“Mr. Stark, it appears you are having a panic-” Tony cuts K.A.R.E.N off for the third time. “I know I am, that’s not important right now! Just answer my damn question!” annoyance very obviously mixed with his panicked voice.

 

“Her last name after marriage was Parker, but her maiden name was Fitzpatrick sir.” K.A.R.E.N states monotonically.

 

 _“Oh God, oh God, oh God….”_ Tony thinks, forgetting about his ‘relaxing routine’ before continuing. “Pull up her bio and picture…” Tony states desperately.

 

K.A.R.E.N goes through all known databases carrying any information regarding the woman in question, once she shows what’s requested, Tony goes into full on panic mode.

 

The woman on his screen… There’s no doubt about, that’s the woman he was reminded of at the cemetery. Peter even mentioned her having blue eyes. How could Tony not have suspected it earlier?

 

He remembers more than just having a casual fling with her. This woman many years ago came up to his office one day to claim Tony as her unborn child’s father.

 

**Flashback...**

 

_“I work with S.H.I.E.L.D, so don’t question the methods. But I’ve run the tests many times Tony, your DNA comes up positive everytime.” Mary states, promptly handing the genius her evidence._

 

_Tony looks them over, before talking “So you’re aware, I hate being handed things, a little pet peeve if you catch my drift. Anyway what do you want me to do? Announce to the world that Tony Stark the self-centered, rich, genius, playboy is playing daddy with a one-night stand’s kid?” Tony states arrogantly._

 

_Mary slams her palm on his desk pointing a finger at him before continuing “Don’t you dare call me that Tony! I’m not one of your prostitutes! You’re gonna be a father! At least do something responsible!” Mary snapped, but her voice very subtly desperate towards the end._

 

_Tony only looks at her, takes a sip of his coffee, then proceeds “So what, dare I ask, would be the responsible thing for my kid?” Tony states, getting more annoyed by the second._

 

_“I want you… to stay away.” Mary ends finally, before walking out the door never to be seen by Tony again._

 

_Tony only looks at the now closed door and shakes his head before returning to his work. “That I can do.” he states casually._

 

**Back to the present…**

 

 _“Oh God, oh God, oh God”_ is all Tony can think as his mind returns from his flashback.

 

 _Oh God, what am I gonna to do?”_ he thinks frantically, desperate for a solution.

 

_“Could I be…? Is he…? How many years ago was that…? 16? Dammit, the time checks out! But oh God…”_

 

Tony loves Peter, even though it’s hard for him to admit, he truly does. And he wasn’t lying that he loves him as the son he never had. But here and now, in the heat of the moment, the possibility of the matters at hand, and given what he knows about how hard it’s been for Peter growing up, he can’t help his sense of vulnerability and panic.

 

 _“I have to find out first, I don’t know for sure… But oh no… If it is, I’ve already sealed his fate before he was even born… Goddamn you Richard… How dare you…”_ Tony thinks aggressively against the dead man, wishing he were alive so Tony could pummel him to near death for what he did to Peter.

 

 _“And all the other times I’ve nearly sent him to his grave…”_ the thought crosses Tony’s mind, the knowledge of Peter nearly dying by fallen rubble even more prominent now.

 

 _“Peter… My… I have to find out for sure!”_ Tony thinks with a panicked mind, but determined nonetheless.

 

 _“But how am I gonna do it, I can’t just walk up to Peter asking for a sample, that alone is suspicious… And there’s no way I could… Or could I? No!”_ Tony contemplated getting Peter’s DNA against the boy’s will, but even he wasn’t low enough to do that.

 

 _“Especially not to my own… Damn this is so hard.”_ Tony says in his mind, before he realizes that K.A.R.E.N has been trying to capture his attention.

 

“Mute, K.A.R.E.N. And don’t you tell Peter about any of this” He circles a finger around his panicked body “until I’m ready. Same goes for you F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Tony ends with a bite in his voice.

 

 _“If I’ll ever be ready… How will I find out is the main problem.”_ Tony thinks to himself before proceeding to go upstairs to get ready for bed, panic slightly died down to the point he could try to do that.

 

As Tony lays his head down on the pillow, the real question that’s been attacking him since the mention of Mary replays over and over in his head.

 

_“Am I Peter’s father?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After learning the possibility of Peter being his son, the guilt of the boy's suffering gives Tony anxiety like he’s never felt before.
> 
> With the weight of the situation pushing down on Tony, Peter wakes up to address the distressed panics of his mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got caught up with registering for classes for the fall semester as well as applying for Engineering jobs on campus, so that's why writing this chapter been relatively slow lately. Sorry about the wait guys!
> 
> On to business, here's Chapter 5 of my first fic "Unless It Was For a Reason". Enjoy!
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

Sleep did not come very well to Tony that night. After K.A.R.E.N unintentionally dropped a bomb labeled ‘Mary Fitzpatrick’ on the genius, trying to get even a decent hour of sleep proved to be an ordeal.

 

As Tony’s body just starts to enter REM sleep, his body begins to sweat as unpleasant thoughts and memories permeate his dreams.

 

_Tony wakes to find himself in the middle of a large stage. The sight is familiar and he is quick to recognize the setting as the Stark Expo. Much to his confusion, the area is void of any people. No sightings of young minds trying to bring their ideas together, no evidence of crowds bustling and bumping into each other to take in the sites. And oddly enough to come to Tony’s attention, no presence of enthusiastic children running around nearly getting lost in the vast exposition._

 

_He thought to soon on that last point…_

 

_Just as Tony walks down the stage to search hoping that he’ll come across someone, he notices something in the distance. As he leans his body forwards and squints to focus on the spectacle, Tony realizes that it’s a little boy, no older than 8 or 9. As he takes in the boy’s features, he feels a familiar sense in the boy’s appearance. The kid’s dressed casually in a hoodie and jeans, with a toy Iron Man helmet and repulsor gloves donned as to imitate the superhero._

 

_Tony could swear that he has seen the boy before, he just can’t put his finger on it to know why. Before he realizes it, Tony begins to walk toward the boy, feeling a strange urge to watch over him until he can get him to a more secure location._

 

_Just as he’s covered half the original distance between him and the boy, Tony hears a familiar whirring noise, he turns his attention to see one of Ivan Vanko’s ‘Hammer Drones’ zeroing in closer to the child._

 

_Realization suddenly hits him as remembers the boy as the young Iron Man fan he saved years ago before he almost became victim to one of Vanko’s death machines. Tony’s heartbeat accelerates as he notices the drone lower his gun, aimed directly at its target, the little boy._

 

_The boy doesn’t even seem to notice the incoming threat, as he continues to stand still with his attention turned to Tony. The genius hastens his pace, and he finds himself on a full on sprint to get to the kid, desperate to put as much distance between him and the drone as possible._

 

_“Kid! Get out of there, move!” Tony yells, hoping the kid will realize the danger his life is in._

 

_Just as he’s within five meters, paralysis immediately spreads through Tony’s entire body as he is forced into a sudden stop, helpless to prevent the drone from pursuing with its intentions._

 

_Tony can only watch in shock and horror as bullets begin to rain down on the boy’s body, only coming to a halt once the drone deems the child dead before soaring away. Guilt immediately invades every one of Tony’s nerves as he stares down at the lifeless corpse in front of him. Only two seconds later does he realize the boy’s helmet has fallen off revealing his true face._

 

_Dread is quickly added with the guilt on Tony as he stares wide eyed in recognition of the child in front of him. There’s no doubt about it, this child is…_

 

_“Pe...Peter…?” Tony says, horror laced all over his voice. The paralysis on his body dissipates and he immediately rushes to the boy’s side, vainly hoping to find any trace of life in his body._

 

_“Peter! Please! No! No, please no!” Tony yells, tears streaming freely down his face as he clutches the boy close to his body._

 

_Suddenly Tony hears a quiet whisper coming from the boy in his arms._

 

_“Daddy…?” Tony hears, terrified with how slowly and monotonically it came out. He feels the boy’s head shift against his chest. As Tony turns to face him, his fear only increases as he realizes the hateful glare of Peter’s face staring at him._

 

_“I died today daddy… You didn’t protect me daddy… You were never there for me daddy… You failed me daddy…” Peter says, slowly and menacingly._

 

_“No… Peter I…” Tony couldn’t even finish, as much as he wanted to deny Peter’s beliefs that he made him suffer, his actions of never taking his parental responsibilities years ago cruelly remind him that he’d only be contradicting himself. He can only kneel there in horror as the boy continues to reprimand his mentor._

 

_“You were never there for me daddy! You failed me daddy! You were never there! You were never there! You were never there!” Peter shouts continuously, much to the torment of the man holding him._

 

_“Peter stop! Please that’s not true!” Tony lied to himself and to the boy in his arms, knowing full well that he was never there for Peter growing up. “I… I love you… I know it… Please believe me...” Tony finally says truthfully, shutting his eyes in a vain attempt to stop the flow of tears._

 

_“You were never there… You were never….” Peter stops, leaving Tony confused. Tony opens his eyes to see that the boy’s face has gone completely pale. His eyes void of any color just staring into nowhere, and his nerves killed off completely leaving him dead in the man’s arms._

 

_“Peter?” Tony asks desperately, before starting to shake the boy, hoping to bring him back. “Peter?!” His voice getting raspier as he pleads. “Bring him back! Don’t do this! Don’t do this!” He repeats this back and forth, begging to whatever greater force there was out there to bring his boy back to him, all in vain._

 

_“Don’t do this… Please… Not my son…” Tony finally pleads quietly as he holds Peter tight against his chest, his eyes closed as he mourns for the boy._

 

_The next time Tony opens his eyes, he notices he’s no longer at the Stark Expo. His surroundings feel familiar yet he knows he’s never been here before. As he takes it all in, he realizes he’s inside a dimly lit concrete building, similar to the ones that frequently haunt Peter. In front of him, he can see the figure of a man wearing a black helmet with glowing green eyes approaching them. It only takes Tony a second to realize the man before him is the Vulture._

 

_“Get away from him!” Tony yells threateningly, wanting to keep him away from Peter despite knowing he was…  limp in his arms._

 

_“Oh don’t worry, I’m not gonna do anything to him Stark.” the Vulture states, before turning his back on the two. “Doesn’t mean she won’t.” he says quietly, before revealing the remote in his hand, promptly pushing the button._

 

_Immediately the Vulture’s wingsuit crashes through a wall behind them, proceeding to destroy all the support beams within the structure._

 

_As if on cue, Peter’s body immediately jolts back into life, frantically screaming in Tony’s arms. To the genius’s horror, he realizes his body is in paralysis again, and judging by how Peter isn’t moving either, he can only guess that he’s paralyzed as well. They’re trapped at the Vulture’s mercy._

 

_“NOOOO!!! NOOOO!!! NOOOO!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! PLEASE, I DON’T WANNA DIE!!!” Peter screams, so intensely it’s blood curdling. Tony realizes that he can’t even move his own mouth to speak, he’s helpless once again as he can only watch in horror as he and the boy succumb to their imminent death._

 

_As the wingsuit destroys the last support beam, it quickly returns back to its master, promptly attaching itself onto the Vulture’s back and flying them out of the building away from danger._

 

_The dread in Tony’s body accelerates as he watches the cracks in the ceiling intensify. The concrete gives and rubble falls down at an alarming velocity towards the mentor and student._

_Peter can only scream in terror just before the massive stones reach the two, crushing them with their immense weight._

 

_Tony loses all feeling in his body, and feels his consciousness drifting away, the only thing he has time to process is the painful whispers of the boy he failed._

 

_“Please… help me… dad.” Peter whimpered, was all Tony heard before his vision turned completely black._

 

Tony’s eyes snap open, he feels moist and realizes he’s been sweating intensely during his nightmare. He tries to get up, but his body still thinks its in paralysis mode, all he can do is lay there, waiting for his body to re-adjust back to normal and his breathing to even out.

 

As feeling returns to his body, Tony gets up and looks around his room, making sure everything is in order. A voice at the door startles him, snapping his attention towards the source.

 

“Tony? Are you okay?” a young familiar voice says, it doesn’t register immediately but Tony quickly recognizes it as Peter seconds later.

 

“Peter? Is that you?” Tony asks, squinting in the dimly lit room to make sure he’s correct.

 

“Yeah it’s me, don’t worry. I just came to check up on you.” Peter states, with a bit of concern in his voice.

 

“I’m fine Pete, why’d you get up?” Tony inquires assertively, trying to hide his anxiousness toward the boy after the introduction of his new predicament.

 

Peter takes a step back, hurt by his mentor’s stern tone, before continuing “I… I heard you from my room… You sounded like you were panicking.” he says sheepishly.

 

Tony notices the discomfort in Peter’s demeanor, quickly forgetting about his own distress and his new ‘situation’ with his pupil, he motions for the kid to come over.

 

Peter, while hesitant at first, walks over to Tony’s bed, standing in front of his mentor awaiting his response.

 

“I’m okay Peter, I promise. I’m sorry if I scared you there kiddo.” Tony said, more softly this time to reassure the boy.  

 

Peter gives him a look before responding “It’s okay Tony, I get it…” he starts, before pondering if he should continue. He takes a deep breath and goes for it.

 

“But I know you’re not okay. Seriously, you tried to soundproof my room as best as you could, but I was still able to hear your screams from across the hallway. That doesn’t sound okay to me.” Peter stated, with a hard voice to get his point across.

 

Tony only looked down, mentally cursing at himself for letting his vulnerability affect the people around him again. Memories of the Mk 42 armor attacking Pepper during one of his nightmares creeped its way into his head.

 

His attention is brought back to reality by the kid’s voice.

 

“And don’t think that it makes you weak or that it’s wrong for you to expose that to me Tony, I go through it, and you’ve been there for me when it was hard so… what I’m trying to say is, I’m here for you too, for anything.” Peter states reassuringly.

 

Instead of saying something in response, Tony gives the kid a soft smile before putting his arms out motioning for a hug. Peter doesn’t hesitate, he immediately walks into his mentor’s arms resting his head against the man’s chest right below his chin.

 

They stay like that for a while before Tony speaks up. “Thanks kid, to tell you the truth, I’m still a little uneasy but I feel much better.” he says softly.

 

Peter only looks at him with a concerned look. Tony mentally kicks himself for not filtering that irrelevant part out. Well, at least it was irrelevant, not so much now that it caught the kid’s attention.

 

“Don’t worry about it Peter, I’m fine.” Tony says softly, reassuring the kid.

 

Peter continues to look at his mentor, taking a pause before speaking. “Tony… I won’t force you to talk about it if you don’t want to, just like you respect my decisions when I don’t. But I really think you should talk about this, like seriously, your screams were very intense and painful from what I could tell.” he says, concern obvious in his tone.

 

“Oh come on, there’s no way I’d-” Tony says, before getting cut off by Peter.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, rerun the surveillance footage from around 4:40 a.m.” Peter says adamantly.

 

“Sure thing Mr. Parker” the A.I states.

 

Tony and Peter stare as the wall turns into a projection screen, they watch Tony’s body sweat profusely as his body shifts around the bed, indicating at the least mild distress.

 

Finally after a minute or so, the footage shows Tony as he begins to panic before he screams to the top of his lungs, much to the discomfort of the oversensitive spiderling who presses his hands to his ears to drown out the noise.

 

After the recording ends, Peter unclamps his ears and turns his attention back to Tony. He watches him expectantly, patiently waiting for him to say something.

 

Peter sighs and starts. “Like I said, I won’t force you to talk. But I’m here for you if want to get something off your chest Tony.” Peter says softly.

 

Tony looks at him, unsure of what he should tell Peter, definitely not about him suspecting he was the kid’s father, but now he feels he should at least say something.

 

“Alright, I’ll talk. But first, are you sure it’s not a problem with me talking about it Pete?”  Tony inquires.

 

“Tony, you help me out with my problems a lot, of course I’m willing to do the same for you and not because I owe you or anything like that. And besides you’re my da- mentor! I really should stop pronouncing mentor like that!” Peter says with a laugh, hoping to get a humorous reaction from his mentor.

 

Normally Tony would be all over the moon at Peter referring to him as ‘dad’, but now considering his current predicament, the fear and uncertainty that he’s screwed up Peter as his father only brings guilt into Tony’s conscience. Of course, he doesn’t want to add more onto Peter’s plate so he just casually smiles at the joke before continuing.

 

“You’re fine Pete. Come sit here and then I’ll talk, you standing in front of me there like an interrogator is making me nervous.” Tony says with a forced chuckle. Luckily the kid didn’t notice.

 

“Alright alright Tony...” Peter says before taking a seat next to his mentor on the bed.

 

Tony sighs before continuing. “Oh boy… where do I start?” he says tiredly. He looks at Peter, who only returns an expectant look back at him, reminding his mentor to take his time with this.

 

“I had a nightmare Pete.” Tony states with a hard tone.

 

“About what? Something related to the Avengers and incoming threats or…?” Peter stops himself, before he apologizes for bringing up the sensitive topic to the man. “I’m sorry Tony, it just slipped out, I take it back.” the spiderling says regretfully.

 

Tony smiles softly at Peter, wrapping his arm around his shoulder before deciding to speak. “Don’t worry about it kiddo, you didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, no…. that’s not what it was about.” he says softly, reassuring his pupil.

 

Taking Peter’s nod in understanding as his cue, Tony continues a bit more confidently.

 

“It had to do with you.” Tony says, promptly daring a glance at the boy after the words come out.

 

Fearing that he’ll once again see the hateful glare that haunted Tony’s sleep, his mind relaxes once he notices the understanding yet curious look on Peter’s face. The kid gestures for Tony to continue.

 

Not wanting to tell Peter any part of his dream that heavily implied Tony being the boy’s father, nor any of the details that relate to Peter’s trauma from the Vulture, Tony proceeds to just go with the simple facts.

 

“In the dream… I wasn’t able to save you… and you died because of me…” Tony says, shame starting to lace his voice, immediately being replaced by pain.

 

Peter once again nods in understanding before deciding to speak up. “I understand Tony, I won’t ask any further if it’s making you uncomfortable… but can you look at me real quick?” he says, with a hopeful tone to get his mentor’s attention.

 

Tony obliges and looks down to his pupil who is staring at him with a smile. Peter takes cue and proceeds.

 

“I’m okay Tony, whatever happened in your dream was just a dream. I’m here, I’m alive, and there’s nothing you need to blame yourself for.” Peter says reassuringly.

 

Tony’s heart swells at the compassion and empathy coming from the boy before him. Regardless of whether Peter is his son or not, the man couldn’t feel more proud and lucky to have someone as kind-hearted as Peter in his life. Unfortunately, as quickly as the feeling of euphoria came, it died down just as fast as harsh reminders from his dream involving the Vulture came into Tony’s mind.

 

 _“I sure as hell would like to believe that Peter, but the fact is it almost became a reality this past September…. and…. it was my fault.”_ Tony thinks to himself, not realizing his face matched the regretful emotions his thoughts induced.

 

His attention is brought back to reality at the boy calling his name, concern very obvious in his tone.

 

“Tony?” Peter says, trying to shake his mentor from his daze. His mentor only looks at him with a sorrowful look.

 

Before he can even process it, Peter finds himself wrapped in his mentor’s arms once again, much tighter than the previous one. Peter simply returns the hug, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist, hoping that what he was doing was helping Tony.

 

Tony’s body begins to shake, and the boy feels wet drops falling into his hair. Peter looks at his mentor to see that his eyes are closed shut trying to keep his tears from streaming. Feelings of compassion, sympathy, and empathy permeate every nerve of Peter’s body as he wraps his arms tighter against Tony’s waist.

 

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry....” Tony stutters, his words slurred as he sobs into the boy in his arms.

 

“You have nothing to be sorry for Tony.” Peter says softly, trying to calm the man down.

 

“If… If I hadn’t… If I hadn’t taken your suit… You never would’ve… Crushed.” Tony says, struggling to speak as his body continues to tremble.

 

Peter furrows his eyebrows in confusion, he pulls away a little to look at his mentor before proceeding.

 

“What are you talking about Tony…?” Peter says, afraid that he has hunch as to where this is going.

 

“I can’t… I just…” Tony tries to let out, to distraught to gather his own thoughts.

 

“It’s about the Vulture isn’t it?” Peter lets out factly with realization in his voice, to which Tony timidly nods to before looking down at the ground.

 

Believing that he angered the boy, Tony turns his head away out of fear, fear that the hateful glare he witnessed in his dream has manifested itself into reality on Peter’s face.

 

A few seconds later, a gentle hand lands on Tony’s shoulder, followed by a soft, youthful voice from the boy.

 

“Tony… I’m not mad that you know about that.” Peter pauses, before continuing. The uncertainty never leaving Tony as he refuses to turn in the direction of the boy.

 

“And don’t take this the wrong way but… To be honest, I’m actually relieved.” Peter says softly. At the last statement, Tony turns to look at the boy, his apprehension now replaced by confusion.

 

Taking this as his cue, Peter continues. “I was scared that if I brought this up it would only devastate you, and I didn’t want to do that to you...” he says, the softness in his voice never leaving.

 

 _“And if you died, I feel like that’s on me.”_ the words of his mentor after the ferry incident circulate into Peter’s head, before he decides to continue.

 

“But I’m relieved because… now I have the chance to reassure you that nothing that’s happened to me so far was your fault Tony. You don’t need to blame yourself, and I don’t blame you for anything.” Peter says, watching as his mentor slowly relaxes but with uncertainty still laced over his body.

 

“And if I really want to be honest here, you’ve actually saved my life more times than you think.” Peter says factly, but this only confuses Tony even more.

 

The spiderling sighs before continuing. “It happened about eight years ago, not too long after my parents died, I was staying with Ben and May. They knew how big an Iron Man fan I was, and with the Stark Expo being in Queens, they couldn’t pass up the chance to give me the time of my life.” Peter says softly, grabbing the attention of his mentor who only stares at the boy in curiosity.

 

“I was just in complete awe with everything going on there. Even after those ‘Hammer Drones’ began terrorizing everyone that night, me being a naive eight year old kid at the time I thought it was just all part of the act. Little did I know that I was that close to having an early funeral when a drone stood in front of me, ready to shoot me down.” he pauses, looking at his mentor who still has uncertainty written on his face, but there’s something else there too… familiarity?

 

“Like I said, I was just a dumb naive kid then so I did what any over excited fan with a Iron Man helmet and gloves would do.” Peter pauses again, this time motioning his hand in a similar fashion as if firing a repulsor blast.

 

“I roleplayed.” Peter says, giving a glance at Tony who is now staring at Peter with a look of recognition of these details.

 

“Before I even knew it, the drone blew up! For a second, I thought I did it but then I turned to see the real Iron Man looking directly at me, giving me a “Nice work kid” before flying off to fight more bad guys.” Peter says, enthusiasm working into his voice.

 

“I’ll never forget that day, even now it’s still one of the most memorable moments in my life.” Peter states, his attention never turned away from Tony’s face. “Wanna know why that day’s so important to me?” he asks, and despite the uncertainty on the man’s face he nods for Peter to continue.

 

“Because not only was I saved by the man I’ve looked up to most of my life, it was also when he taught me his first lesson. He taught me how to stand up for myself in any situation, all because of a simple “Nice work kid”.” Peter says, before continuing. “And from then on, as I grew older, eventually becoming Spiderman, slowly but surely I was learning what being brave meant.” he pauses, allowing Tony to process before coming to his big finish.

 

“My point is, sure I get why you feel guilty over everything that’s happened to me after Berlin, it doesn’t take more than just getting to know you to see that. But you don’t need to, because you’ve done so much for me that’s helped me grow not only as a young adult but as a hero too. I’m so happy that you’re in my life the way you are Tony and I don’t want you to doubt that.” Peter finally ends, hitting his point home to his mentor.

 

Tony was shocked, by some chance the boy he saved many years ago at the Stark Expo was Peter. His shock quickly turned into pride as the boy looked at him with a smile, telling him the role that day played in his development from his childhood all the way to his teenage years.

 

And finally, from pride it turned into happiness as Peter told the man that despite everything, he wouldn’t have it any other way after all the good things that happened between the two. Tony can’t help the wide smile that shows on his face after the boy’s little speech.

 

“My turn now.” Peter says, opening his arms gesturing Tony for a hug just as he did earlier. The man doesn’t hesitate, he grabs the boy into his arms, holding one hand to the back of Peter’s head while the other around his back. Tony holds his chin just above Peter’s head, and doesn’t even care that a few tears of happiness escape his eyes, he is where he wants to be, holding his boy content in his arms.

 

Tony finally speaks “Thanks kid, for being in my life. It means more than you know.” he says fondly, looking down at Peter as he feels the boy’s head shift under his chin.

 

“Trust me, I think I have an idea. Also, same to you Tony, thanks for always being there for me.” Peter says, a smile donned on his face as he looks up at the man.

 

The two pull away from their hug, now just looking at each other waiting for the other to say something. Peter decides to break the silence.

 

“You look really tired Tony, I think you should get some sleep.” Peter says, mildly concerned about the exhaustion written all over the man’s face.

 

“Yeah I think I can say the same to you Pete.” Tony responds back, ruffling the kid’s hair as he goes.

 

“Alright alright Tony, I’ll let you get your beauty sleep.” Peter says with a laugh, promptly getting up from the bed to go back to his room. He immediately feels a hand gently grab his wrist and looks back at Tony who’s face just reads “I don’t think so”.

 

“Actually…” Tony starts sheepishly “How about you just stay here for the night?” he asks, patting at the empty spot on his bed. Despite their talk, the damage from the genius’s nightmare still hasn’t fully healed, leaving him apprehensive of letting the spiderling out of his sight for a even a second.

 

Peter gives Tony a mischievous grin, obviously having spotted the opportunity to embarrass his mentor.

 

“You do realize that…” Peter points at his face “I’m like 16 right? And you’re like 60?” Peter says, now pointing his finger at Tony.

 

Tony’s face turns beet red, annoyance immediately following at the boy’s repulsive insinuation.

 

“What?! No, God, no! Jeez, Peter… What do you take me for? I’m not some sick pig! Plus you’re not “like 16” you’re still 15 and I know you think I’m old but so I’m sure you’re aware I’m 47!” Tony exclaims, out of embarrassment and annoyance.

 

“I was just kidding Tony!” Peter says with a laugh.

 

“Yeah yeah sure, just get over here kiddo.” Tony grumbles.

 

After Peter’s laughter dies down, he gets comfortable in the spot Tony gestured for him. As the two lie down, Peter is the first to knock out, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts. The genius turns his head to face the kid, smiling at him as he softly snores with his mouth slightly open.

 

Just as Tony did the night of the cemetery episode, he holds Peter close against his chest with his arm over his back, content in knowing the boy is safe by his side.

 

Much to his surprise, Tony wasn’t as uneasy as he expected himself to be at the presence of Peter. He realizes, that after his nightmare, the need to protect the boy overrode his anxiety, allowing him to feel more relaxed enough to have a civilized conversation.

 

But just like an adrenaline rush, this will die down as well, and Tony will have to prepare himself for what’s to come between him and Peter once morning hits.

 

Right now however, that’s not important, as Tony lays there, watching over the boy in his care with a protective resolve. With his focus only on Peter, Tony gathers his thoughts, mentally formulating what may lie ahead in store for him.

 

 _“When I find out the truth… If my suspicions are right, and they usually are, I don’t know how you’ll react. Maybe things will stay the same, maybe things will get better from there, or maybe…”_ Tony hesitates, feeling a knot in his gut at the pain this next thought will bring.

 

 _“Maybe you won’t want anything to do with me anymore…”_ he finally thinks, accepting the possibility no matter how much he wanted to deny it. With a deep breath, Tony makes a promise.

 

 _“But it doesn’t matter, whatever happens, the good or the bad...”_ Tony says, hardening his grip gently enough to not stir Peter.

 

 _“Whether we’re blood or not, I’ll always be there for you Peter...”_ he pauses, looking down as the boy softly snores in his sleep. Tony places a hand over his cheek before committing his final thought as his eyes drift into slumber.

 

_“Because you’ll always be my son.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting an emergency call regarding his best friend, May comes to pick up Peter, leaving his mentor alone at the compound for the rest of the day.
> 
> The next time Tony hears about the boy, it’s his 16th birthday. What’s meant to be a day for celebration quickly takes a turn for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> I'd like to say I'M REALLY SORRY that I haven't been updating recently. Been busy with work, preparing for the next semester, interviews for on campus engineering jobs and other opportunities, fixing my car, and getting myself ready for another year at college.
> 
> This unfortunately has had an adverse effect on my sleep schedule, which means I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping. Trust me, I've been trying to get back to this story as frequently as possible but most times that I've tried either I fall asleep while writing or I'm just too tired to formulate any interesting ideas.
> 
> I will try to update more frequently, believe me I love writing this and I don't want to disappoint you guys, but I just want you all to know what's been up. Thanks in advance for understanding.
> 
> Anyways on to business, here's Chapter 6 of my first fic "Unless It Was For a Reason". Enjoy!
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney! Also any characters mentioned that are not included in the MCU are credited to Red Hour Productions and Dreamwork Pictures.

The mentor and student duo slept soundly that night, impressively Tony managed to get five hours of sleep before his circadian rhythm decided the day started.

 

Waking from his dreamless slumber, which is a blessing for the man, Tony gradually opens his eyes to see Peter still wrapped around his arm, sleeping peacefully.

 

The genius quickly recognizes the feeling of anxiety that builds up at the sight of the boy, and despite the negative flair forming inside him, he controls the urge for the spiderling’s sake.

Moving his eyes away from Peter, Tony slowly releases his arm and gets up, taking care not to wake the kid. He leaves the room, heads for the kitchen and prepares an espresso shot for breakfast to kick start his morning.

 

As he waits on it to finish, he grabs a few ingredients from the fridge, one of them being sweetened vanilla cream flavoring for his beverage. Normally, he would go for pure black brews, but ever since Peter started spending more time with him, the man’s sweet tooth developed more and more.

 

Putting the flavoring to the side, he brings the rest of the ingredients over to the counter and grabs a large bowl, a pan, and a turbo mixer. 

 

“How did this go again? Milk then flour… Or the other way around?” Tony asks himself out loud, trying to find the best approach to make Peter’s favorite Sunday breakfast, blueberry pancakes.

 

_ “Blueberries…”  _ Tony thinks, the thought hitting him as he realizes that he and Peter share the same favorite fruit.

 

_ “Guess that’s another reason to suspect he’s mine...”  _ he finishes his thought, before hearing soft footsteps coming from the direction of his bedroom. Turning his attention to the source, Tony sees a still sleepy Peter walking into the kitchen.

 

“Morning Tony…” Peter says, rubbing his eyes at the same time. The man hesitates for a second, then proceeds to greet the kid.

 

“...Morning Pete.” Tony says, trying to hide the hesitation in his voice as well as the stiffness circulating through his body. 

 

Fortunately, Peter seems too tired to notice the forcefulness in his mentor’s behavior and instead focuses on the bag of flour and blueberries in the man’s hands.

 

“Are you making blueberries pancakes...? You remembered...?” Peter says, yawning at the end.

 

At that, Tony genuinely lets out a small chuckle before proceeding “Well, you’ve been around me a lot these days kiddo. Habits gotta start one way or another…” he starts a little more confidently, but quickly loses it towards the end. 

 

“You’re the best…” Peter tiredly says, obviously still too tired to notice Tony’s slightly awkward tone. The kid flops on the couch, putting a hand on his head as he closes his eyes for another rest.

 

“Of course kid, look who you’re talking to.” Tony chuckles forcefully, deciding to distract his attention from his panicked state to the empty mixing bowl in front of him.

 

Looking at the ingredients in his hand, the genius decides to just wing it and hope for the best. 

 

“Screw it, pancakes are pancakes.” Tony says out loud, simultaneously throwing in all the ingredients into the bowl in one go, not caring to use a measuring cup. His logic being that he’s Tony Stark, he rarely needs to measure anything.

 

After mixing enough to what Tony deemed a job well done, he pours some batter onto a preheated pan. As he waits on the first griddle, he grabs his flavored espresso shot and turns his attention to the boy napping on the couch.

 

“You’re alright Tony…?” Peter tiredly asks.

 

“Always. Why’d you ask kiddo?” Tony says, impressively with a casual tone. 

 

_ “Please don’t notice.”  _ the genius pleads in his head, trying to keep a straight face.

 

“Just checking if you’re good now since last night…” Peter says, the drowsiness still laced in his voice.

 

A little relief spreads within the genius as he holds back a sigh. “I’m good Pete, don’t worry. Just need a little...” he says timidly towards the end, quickly noticing how he’s tapping his shot with his index finger before continuing “...kicker to pick me up.” he ends, hoping he dodged another bullet.

 

“Hm…?” Peter asks, the sleep notably starting to alleviate from his body. Tony begins to feel uneasy again as he waits for the boy’s response.

 

_ “Just shrug it off Peter...” _ Tony thinks with some impatience, not out of spite but out of pure panic creeping into his mind.

 

“Well alright then, if you say so.” Peter says casually, enough to at least convince the man that the kid doesn’t suspect anythings up.

 

“By the way, I think the pancake is starting to burn.” the boy states flatly, to which quickly Tony snaps his head back to the stove.

 

“Crap!” Tony shouts, looking down at the now burnt griddle on his spatula. “Well I guess that’s one less pancake for me.” the man says jokingly, with a bit more sincerity in his tone.

 

Peter laughs softly at that. “I’ll share some of mine to make up for that.” the boy says, feeling a little bad about not pointing it out earlier.

 

Turning his attention back to the boy, while simultaneously feeling panic begin to build up again at seeing his face, Tony quickly formulates his thoughts for a response.

 

“That’s a no from me.” Tony states flatly. This time he draws the kid’s attention with the tone of his voice.

 

Peter furrows his eyebrows in confusion, but before he has a chance to say anything Tony speaks up.

 

“Because you need to eat more with your…” he says, pointing at Peter’s stomach before continuing “...enhanced metabolism and all.” he ends there, taking note of the change in the kid’s face as he raises his eyebrows and nods in satisfaction of the answer.

 

Feeling relief again after getting through that, Tony nods at the boy before returning his attention to the now slightly burnt pan in his hand.

 

“Well…” he starts “...can’t be serving anything less than the best now can I?” Tony says casually. 

 

Peter chuckles. “That rhymed.” he says. In response, Tony chuckles before putting the pan in the sink under cold water while grabbing a new one.

 

After making thirteen, actually twelve pancakes minus the burnt one in the trash, Tony sets a plate down on the dining table with two griddles for himself while the other ten left for the spiderling.

 

“Alright kiddo, pancakes are ready.” Tony says, taking note of the way Peter’s head snaps up from the couch in excitement.

 

Tony allows himself to chuckle in amusement. “Don’t be a stranger Pete, help yourself.” he says, motioning his head towards the large stack for the boy.

 

Peter, being as acrobatic as the spider he is, jumps up from the couch and lands in a perfect sitting position in front of his plate, promptly grabbing the bottle of maple syrup and stick of butter left by his mentor to put on his pancakes.

 

As the two eat, Peter decides to engage in conversation. 

 

“So what should we do today?” he asks.

 

At that, Tony internally cringes, though he manages to maintain a composed facade.

 

_ “Crap… Come on, say something.” _ Tony thinks to himself, as he searches around the room to form a response.

 

As he looks around, he stops as his attention now focuses on the TV in the living area.

 

_ “Bing- nope! Not again.”  _ he thinks to himself in slight amusement, not wanting to repeat the ludicrous thought that crossed his mind after picking Peter up on Friday.

 

“How about we just spend the day relaxing and watching movies? We can even watch the entire Star Wars series again if you want.” Tony says, returning his gaze to the boy.

 

“No lab work today?” Peter asks, confusion in his voice.

 

Pondering the question for a few seconds, Tony quickly speaks up. “Well we pretty much finished upgrading your web shooters, and like I said, all we need to do now is to update your A.I’s protocols.” he states factly, impressively hiding his uneasiness.

 

Fearing the anxiety of Peter raising another question that may inadvertently lead to suspicion behind his current inner state, Tony forms a lie in his head.

 

Before the kid can say anything, Tony beats him to the punch “Don’t worry about that though, I already got F.R.I.D.A.Y up to date with your upgrades as well. So as far as getting K.A.R.E.N up to speed with C.S testing just leave it my A.I. alright kiddo?” he lies with a straight face facade.

 

Peter thinks about it for a few seconds, then nods in understanding.

 

“Alright, sounds good. I mean, I prefer hands on work over the programming stuff any day.” Peter says, satisfied with the situation.

Tony holds back another sigh of relief, then speaks up.

 

“So… movies?” Tony inquires.

 

“Movies.” Peter agrees.

 

Later on as they finish their pancakes, Peter heads for the bathroom, giving Tony the chance to discuss with F.R.I.D.A.Y. He puts on his earpiece to have a confidential one-on-one with the A.I so Peter wouldn’t hear from… well throughout the living room.

 

“If Peter asks how where K.A.R.E.N is currently with his web shooters, I’m giving you the heads up to just lie and say it’s still a work in process. Got it?” Tony asks quietly, taking care to ensure that the kid does not hear.

 

“Yes sir.” F.R.I.D.A.Y states.

 

“Good.” Tony replies.

 

As the genius cleans up after him and Peter, he hears a ringtone coming from the hallway. Looking towards the source he notices the kid looking at his phone promptly holding the device to his ear to make a call.

 

“Hey Aunt May, what’s up?” Peter asks.

 

Tony notices the kid come to an immediate halt as his face morphs into a look of worry.

 

“Is he okay?! May?!” Peter pleads, not noticing his mentor staring at him from the other side with a frown of confusion, as well as panic himself at seeing the boy’s current state.

 

Tony refrains from walking over to listen in on the situation, not wanting to raise more hysteria than there already is.

 

“You’re coming over now? Okay… good, please get here soon… Thanks May.” 

 

Peter puts away his phone and looks towards his mentor who has a look of concern towards his pupil.

 

“What happened?” Tony asks, mentally noting his anxiety slightly dissipating by his concern over the boy.

 

Peter sighs and looks down before speaking up. “Ned got into an accident and he’s in the hospital. May was pretty vague so I don’t know how serious it is.” the kid says, with a very obviously worried tone.

 

Tony looks at the boy, feeling empathy at his concern as the man recalls how he felt after Rhodey nearly died from the “accidental” misfire from Vision at the airport battle.

 

Peter closes his eyes before continuing. “May’s coming to pick me up soon so I should get ready. I’m really sorry about this Tony, I don’t mean to…” he pauses, stopping as a hand is placed softly on his shoulder. He opens his eyes and looks up to see Tony with a reassuring look.

 

“It’s okay Peter, don’t worry about it. Your friend needs you right now, that’s not something you should be sorry for.” Tony says, giving the boy a small grin.

 

Peter gives his mentor a smile in return. “Thanks Tony.” he says, his body relaxing at the man's comfort.

 

“No problem kiddo. Now run along and get your things, you wouldn’t want to trust me with your laundry.” Tony says.

 

The kid laughs at that. “That explains why there was wet chocolate on your suit the other day.” Peter says, jokingly.

 

Tony blushes at that before giving a snarky rebuttal. “For your information, that was an oil stain.” he states.

 

“I’m kidding Tony, I didn’t see a spot anywhere on you. But now that you mention it, I’ll take your word for it.” Peter says cheekily.

 

Tony only grunts in defeat, waving a hand to dismiss the kid. Peter only laughs heartily at the response before walking back to his room.

 

As soon as Peter is out of his sight, Tony grabs his phone to check for any messages. As if on cue, he gets a call from May.

 

“Hey May, checking on your kid?” he cringes at his use of the phrase “your kid” considering his current circumstances, luckily he’s not on video chat for the kid’s aunt to notice.

 

“That’s nephew to you mister.” May corrects before continuing. “Anyways, I have to pick up Peter early today. His friend Ned had an accident today, I’m not sure what happened, but I think he should have his best friend there when he’s up.” she finishes.  

 

“I get it May, Peter already explained the situation to me before you called.” Tony replies back.

 

“Thank you for your understanding Mr. Stark, and I’m sorry that I have to end this weekend so soon. I know how much the internship days means to both you and Peter.” she says apologetically.

 

Tony nearly rolls his eyes at being addressed as ‘Mr. Stark’ again before replying. “It’s perfectly fine May really, there’s always next week. And by next week of course I mean his birthday.” he says with his signature tone.

 

“I’m surprised you remember that.” she replies with sassily.

 

“I only forget when I’m drunk, which I haven’t been since the little party Peter and I had with some friends last night.” Tony says haughtily, hoping to get a reaction.

 

There’s a pause, after a moment May screams into the genius’s ear. “I SERIOUSLY HOPE THAT YOU ARE KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW TONY STARK!!! IF I FIND ANY SIGNS THAT HE’S BEEN DRINKING I’M GON-” she stops as Tony begins to laugh heartily.

 

“And I’m seriously kidding May. I would never hand your nephew any drinks.” Tony says with a chuckle.

 

May lets out a sigh of relief, to which Tony takes as another chance to mess with her.

 

“Well maybe Thor would.” he says humorously.

 

“Stark…” May says, in a intimidatingly stern tone that would rival Pepper’s.

 

“I’m kidding again, I assure you there was no party nor any drinks involved this weekend.” Tony says.

 

After another sigh, May speaks up. “Alright Mr. Stark, I’m gonna hold your word on that. I should be there in about an hour or so.” she says.

 

“I’ll be sure he’s ready by then.” Tony states, a bit more seriously this time.

 

“Okay, and you were serious about Peter’s birthday right?” she inquires.

 

Tony begins to feel panic as he realizes he will have to hold onto this anxiety for another week, even so he doesn’t hesitate to respond back to woman in confirmation. 

 

“Of course May, I already cleared my whole schedule for the occasion.” he says reassuringly.

 

“Thank you, I’ll see you when I get there.” she ends.

 

“Alright May, I’ll see you too.” Tony states, ending the call there.

 

He puts his phone down and proceeds towards Peter’s room to check on the kid. Just as he’s at the door he feels a surge of anxiousness and quickly tries to think of something, knowing the spiderling is likely aware of the man’s presence. 

 

Tony knocks on the door to start.

 

“Pete, you in there?” the man asks.

 

“Yeah just getting my things.” Peter says.

 

“Okay, well your aunt will be here in an hour give or take, so you got time to kill after. Your suit’s still not finished yet so just leave it with me, I’ll take care of the rest.” Tony says.

 

“Got it Tony, I’ll be out soon.” the kid says, with a somewhat disappointed tone in that he’ll be away from being Spiderman for awhile.

 

Not wanting to delve into it further for the sake of keeping his own mental state in check, Tony decides to say something casual to end the little chit chat. “Alright, I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” the genius states.

 

Receiving an ‘okay’ in response, Tony leaves the kid in privacy and returns to the living quarters, promptly turning on the TV after sitting down on the couch.

 

After five minutes or so, Peter returns dressed in more casual attire with his backpack in his hand. He takes a seat next to his mentor and speaks up.

 

“I’m all set.” the kid says.

 

“Good.” Tony replies, noticing his growing level of unease at the close proximity he’s in with Peter.

 

Taking note of the awkward silence that immediately follows, the man decides to speak up.

 

“You still wanna watch that movie?” he inquires.

 

Peter looks at his mentor and perks up. “Yep, but to be honest I’m not really in a Star Wars mood right now.” the kid says.

 

Tony gives a curious look at the boy. “So what kind of movie would you like?” the man asks.

 

“Hmm… I was thinking that you decide today.” Peter says.

 

Pondering the thought to distract himself from his anxiety, Tony begins to go over any genres that peak his interest. Thinking back to a few films he watched with Rhodey over the past few weeks, he shares his idea with the kid next to him. 

 

“Well… I’ve recently got into war comedies, but most of them were from the 90’s so you’ve probably already seen them.” Tony says.

 

He looks back at the boy who only gives him an enthusiastic wide-eyed look before shouting out in excitement.

 

“I know the perfect movie!” Peter exclaims, making Tony jump back a little in surprise.

 

“Sorry…” the kid says, feeling bad for startling his mentor.

 

“It’s okay Pete. So what is this “perfect” movie you got in mind?” Tony inquires.

 

Instead of replying to the man, Peter calls out to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you put on Tropic Thunder for us?” the kid asks.

 

“Sure thing Mr. Parker.” 

 

He looks at his mentor with a wide smile before finally speaking to him.

 

“You’re in for a treat.” Peter ends there as the film starts.

 

**An hour later…**

 

The two watch the film, eating popcorn while laughing during several parts. During one scene with a particular character, Peter takes a slow double-take look between both the screen and Tony out of curiosity.

 

“Hey…” the boy starts, drawing the attention of his mentor.

 

“What’s up kiddo?” Tony asks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

 

“Nah it’s just… that one guy looks a lot like you. Don’t you think?” Peter says.

 

Tony looks the screen, taking note of the character in question, studying his features as it dawns on him.

 

“Yeah, now that you mention it he does. What’s the actor’s name?” the genius asks.

 

“I think it was Kirk Lazarus.” the kid says.

 

Tony almost rolls his eyes humorously at the statement before continuing. “I meant the actual actor Pete.” he says with a real chuckle.

 

Peter’s mouth gapes in shock as he stares wide eyed at his mentor. Tony looks back at him with a confused look before the kid speaks up.

 

“You don’t know who he is?!” Peter exclaims in surprise.

 

“No…. Am I supposed to…?” Tony asks in an utterly confused tone.

 

“How do you not know Rob-” Peter says before getting cut off by F.R.I.D.A.Y’s voice.

 

“My apologies for interrupting but Ms. May Parker has arrived.” the A.I says.

 

Peter looks down at the floor, a little disappointed. Despite him trying to hide his anxiousness as best as possible, Tony decides to place a hand on the kid’s shoulder to reassure him.

 

“Hey, it’s not like this is the last time you’ll see me Pete.” Tony says, while simultaneously getting a bad feeling in his stomach, hoping that what he’s saying is true in the long run. 

 

He’s rewarded by a soft smile by the boy. Tony returns the gesture and ruffles the kid’s hair before returning his attention to the A.I.

 

“Let her in F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Tony says.

 

“Of course sir.” the A.I replies.

 

About a minute or so, Peter’s aunt enters the living area. She notices the two on the couch before looking towards her nephew.

 

“Hey Peter, how was your weekend?” May asks.

 

“Great May! Tony and I did a lot of hands-on tech type stuff down in the lab. Ya know, the usual.” Peter replies.

 

“Oh it’s Tony now, no more Mr. Stark? Am I on first-name basis with him too?” his aunt asks cheekily, promptly facing the man in question.

 

Tony gives a small grin before speaking. “Everyone’s on first-name basis with me May. Your nephew’s just been playing the late-bloomer game is all.” he says with amusement of the situation.

 

“That’s Ms. Parker to you Tony.” May jokingly says.

 

The man holds his arms up in mock surrender. “Don’t go shooting me now.” Tony says, the humor never leaving his voice.

 

May only gives another grin before continuing. “Like I carry a gun on me. Anyway we should probably get going now, don’t wanna keep Ned in suspense too long right sweetie?” May asks to her nephew.

 

“Maaayyy…. Not that name.” Peter groans quietly in embarrassment, avoiding his mentor’s gaze in a vain attempt to prevent him from noticing.  

 

“Another nickname added to the list.” Tony says with a small smile, poking his head to emphasize he’ll remember.

 

“Ugghhhh…. Let’s just go.” Peter says, gesturing to his aunt’s arm to lead them towards the elevator.

 

“Peter… Don’t be rude now, say bye to Mr. Stark.” May states sternly.

 

Instead of verbally replying back to either of the two, Peter walks back to the couch and gives Tony a hug. The man returns the gesture, hoping that he’s hiding his unease from the contact well.

 

As the two are hugging, Peter whispers into his mentor’s ear. “You are coming to my birthday right?” he inquires.

 

“My schedule’s cleared, I have nothing planned and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be there Pete, don’t worry.” Tony says reassuringly.

 

Peter pulls back from the hug and smiles at the man. “Thanks Tony.” he says fondly.

 

The genius smiles back before replying. “No problem kiddo.” he says, while ruffling the kid’s hair.

 

Peter then gets up, grabs his backpack and walks towards his aunt. Tony turns his gaze towards May’s face, who doesn’t look all that surprised at the fact that her nephew just casually hugged his mentor.

 

“Alright you two skedaddle now, I don’t want Pete to break Ted’s heart now.” Tony says haughtily.

 

“It’s Ned!” both Peter and May say in unison.

 

“If you say so.” the genius says with a chuckle.

 

The aunt and nephew duo turn to leave, Peter takes one final glance at Tony just before he enters the elevator.

 

“Bye Peter, see you next week.” Tony says.

 

“Bye Tony, same to you.” Peter replies just as the door opens, the two then proceed to exit, leaving the genius to his own devices.

 

Feeling slight relief that he’s managed to avoid worrying Peter about his true concerns, Tony plops his head against the back of the couch, grabbing his phone at the same time.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, turn the TV off.” he says.

 

“Yes sir.” the A.I complies.

 

As the screen goes black, Tony allows himself to concentrate on his thoughts since last night in the lab.

 

_ “If I really am Peter’s dad, what then? I care about him, hell even as much as I care about Pep maybe even more. But how do I tell him? I suppose I’ll have to figure that out after... And more importantly, how do I make up for the fact that I’ve already failed him way before Spiderman came to my attention?” _ Tony begins, allowing his unease to take over as it’s the only way to get him to consider these thoughts.

 

_ “Nevermind, there’s no way I could possibly redeem for his childhood but…”  _ he pauses, sighing in an attempt to calm himself a bit, he continues with his muse now focused on the boy’s first “dad”. 

 

_ “I won’t be like you Richard, you’re wrong about him in every way. Peter is everything good in this world, and I’ll see to it that I’ll always be there to support him.”  _ Tony thinks, the word “support” now making him think of his own father Howard.

 

_ “And I’ll make sure he knows that I love him… Even if the worst case is... He’s not really mine.”  _ he surmises, noticing the doubt in his last thought before pushing it away with renewed resolution.

 

_ “If it is so, and he ends up hating me for this… Everything I put him through… I won’t expect him to forgive me and… And I don’t expect that what I do after will make up for anything but… I will...”  _ Tony pauses before finalizing his resolve.

 

_ “... I will be the father he deserves.”  _ he ends his thoughts there, satisfied with the determination he feels with this ambition in mind.

 

Tony gets up from the couch, now feeling his resolve being outweighed by anxiety. He proceeds his ‘relaxing routine’ and turns his attention to the phone in his hand.

 

Deciding that he’s not in the mood to tinker in the lab, he scrolls through his contacts until he stops his thumb at a particular woman’s name. 

 

“Worth a shot.” Tony quietly mutters, pressing call as he puts the device to his ear, hoping that she’ll pick up.

 

After a few moments, the call goes to voicemail, and after sighing in slight disappointment he holds a breath, preparing to leave a message.

 

“Hey Pep…” Tony pauses, thinking about what he should say next.

 

“I know that we both agreed that we should take another break. My fault, I get it. I promised you that I’ve gotten better with my anxiety but I only ended up breaking it after Siberia and I’m so sorry about that.” he says, taking another deep breath before continuing.

 

“And I don’t expect you to call me back or anything, you deserve a normal life and I want that for you more than you realize. But I’m calling because something serious came up. It’s nothing threatening or Iron Man related, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to disclose it yet, but it’s important to me that I figure it out. I just thought I’d let you know so you wouldn’t be too surprised with what’s been going on with me in the later future. It is something we may have to discuss but, you don’t have to worry about it right now. I’ll manage, just continue taking time for yourself Pep.” he takes a short pause.

 

“And I know I’ve said the word “I” more than you’d like to hear in one monologue, it’s your peeve, which is why I’m giving you permission in advance to hurl something at my head the next time we see each other.” Tony says with a slight chuckle before finalizing his speech.

 

“I love you Pepper.” he finishes, promptly pressing end call as he puts the phone down on the couch. 

 

Tony looks around him, deciding that he doesn’t have anything in particular to do in the living area, he proceeds towards his lab.

 

_ “I guess now’s a good time as any to start looking for evidence.” _ he thinks, just as the elevator leading to his personal workshop opens.

 

**Three hours later…**

 

Down in the lab, Tony sits down at his desk discussing with F.R.I.D.A.Y as he searches for any information through any sources regarding Mary or Peter. They’ve already gone through primary forms of identification provided by the spiderling upon officializing his internship status, but none of which suggest any relation between the mentor and student.

 

The man leans his back against his chair, feeling his patience running thin at his shortage of options.

 

“Sir, I must apologize to disappoint you but the S.H.I.E.L.D servers are too well-protected to be hacked into even by our systems.” the A.I says, in an ‘apologetic’ tone.

 

“Damn you Fury, you’ve been taking notes.” Tony mutters in quiet frustration.

 

“And the same goes for alternate official databases that carry Mary or Peter Parker's medical records. I'm afraid that the only definite course of action to access this information is to directly approach him, ideally through consent.” the A.I states factly.

 

Tony puts a hand to his forehead and groans. “I’m well aware of that F.R.I.D.A.Y, thank you. But that's not an option.” he says, the frustration still apparent in his tone.

 

_ “I can program A.Is that can indistinctly access criminal records on command, but I can’t even tap into an local superhero’s biological information.”  _ he thinks in his head.

 

F.R.I.D.A.Y speaks up again. “Have you tried Wikipedia sir?” the A.I suggests, almost as if to annoy her creator.

 

Tony removes his hand from his face and frowns at his screen. “I’m gonna make a note to check if you’re malfunctioning later.” he states, clearly irritated with the ridiculous suggestion.

 

He continues this endeavor non-stop for days, going through any files he has within the compound regarding Peter as well as any external sources that may potentially have leads, only taking short breaks when his A.I informs him that he’s malnourished. It’s not till the day before the boy’s birthday that F.R.I.D.A.Y decides to put an end to it.

 

**Six days later…**

 

“Sir, I insist that you get a full night’s rest tonight. You do have an obligation tomorrow.” the A.I states.

 

“What?” Tony simply asks as he scrolls through the screen in front of him with his twentieth espresso shot in hand.

 

“It’s Peter’s birthday tomorrow sir.” F.R.I.D.A.Y says factly.

 

“Already?! Shit!” Tony exclaims.

 

“Sir with due respect, the celebration is tomorrow, you still have time to get some rest if you sleep now.” the A.I suggests.

 

“And wake up without a present tomorrow I’d like to add!” Tony says, flustered that he didn’t keep track of his schedule.

 

Fortunately the genius designed F.R.I.D.A.Y to remind him of everything he does when he forgets, and that includes the present he “thinks” he did not get.

 

“You already got him a present, it’s wrapped up in your closet sir.” the A.I says.

 

“What? When? What did I do for him?” Tony asks impatiently.

 

“You made a him a new cell phone two weeks ago sir, a personalized model similar to your own Stark Phone.” F.R.I.D.A.Y says.

 

Slowly relaxing, Tony speaks up. “Oh… Right. Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y.” he says, sighing in relief. He heads upstairs to his room, changing from his sweaty attire into a simple white wife beater and grey sweatpants.

 

As he gets ready for bed, he lets himself mull over what has transpired over the week.

 

_ “So far I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere, it’s just dead end after dead end. I need to find out soon, hopefully before Pepper gets back. Who knows when that will be?”  _ Tony thinks before pausing, noticing the exhaustion in his body as the espresso kickstart wears off.

 

_ “Might as well as just drop it for now and rest, I don’t wanna worry Peter anymore than he probably already is.”  _ he ends his thought, allowing his body to relax into a dreamless slumber.

 

**Around 3 a.m…**

 

Tony is awoken to the sound of his phone ringing, not wanting to get up he addresses to his A.I.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, who’s calling…?” he grumbles, drowsiness still permeating his body.

 

“Ms. May Parker sir.” the A.I states factly.

 

At that Tony raises his head up. “Put her on speaker.” he orders.

 

As F.R.I.D.A.Y answers the call, Tony speaks up. “May… It’s late, are you guys starting Peter’s party earl-” he stops, getting interrupted by the panicked voice of the spiderling’s aunt.

 

“Tony! Oh thank God, please I need your help!” May exclaims.

 

“What happened?” Tony asks, starting to feel anxious in fear that either her or Peter are hurt.

 

“It’s Peter! He’s… he’s…” May repeatedly pauses, too frantic to form complete sentences.

 

At that Tony’s eyes widen, his whole torso shooting up from his bed as he’s about to scream into the device.

 

Just as he’s about to, he stops himself, realizing that getting hysterical will not help the situation. Composing himself a bit more, he speaks in a more calmed yet obviously concerned tone.

 

“May slow down, take a deep breath.” Tony says suggestively. Once the woman complies, she proceeds to do so until the genius deems her relaxed enough.

 

“Alright, what happened to Peter?” Tony calmly demands.

 

“I was doing late night work and then I went to check on him, when I got to his room he wasn’t there.” May says.

 

Now Tony starts to show his panic. “He’s missing?!” he asks, hoping that the answer was no.

 

“No, by the time I was about to call the police he walked into through the front door. I don’t know what he was doing out so late but that’s not what’s got me so worried.” May says a little more quietly before continuing.

 

“It’s his skin…” she says, and the man could swear he heard her choke on a sob at that phrase.

 

“What’s wrong with him?” Tony asks, fearing that he knows where this is going.

 

“I don’t know… His skin… It’s white… And he won’t say anything… I don’t know what to do… I was gonna call an ambulance… but I panicked and I just… I just called you first… because…” May pauses, now palpably sobbing through her words. Tony stays silent as if to let her continue, but he’s panicking in shock himself at the confirmation of his fears.

 

“I reacted… I don’t know… I trust you… I’m sorry I should’ve just called an ambulance… I don’t mean to-” she’s interrupted by Tony’s voice.

 

“No! You did the right thing. Don’t do anything just stay put, I’m gonna be there soon.” he says, trying to compose himself but ultimately fails as his voice shakes in hysteria.

 

“Okay, I can do that… Just please, help my nephew Tony.” May says.

 

“I will, just try to relax for him.” Tony says, getting up from his bed as he ends the call, throwing on a pair of loafers and a hoodie as he calls F.R.I.D.A.Y to open the closest window. He makes a sprint out towards the commanded exit and jumps.

 

Never once has he called in a suit so fast before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nearly a week has passed since Peter left the compound, leaving his mentor in an increasing state of solitary apprehension. On the night of the spiderling’s birthday, Tony receives an urgent distressed call from May.
> 
> After living on edge for what seemed forever, he doesn’t think things could get any more difficult for him. Unfortunately, fate seems to favor proving the man wrong in the cruelest of ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say, this is quite possibly the chapter I had the most difficulty writing so far.
> 
> Anyways on to business! Here's the next chapter of my first fic: "Unless It Was For a Reason"
> 
> I do not own the characters in this story, all characters are credited to Marvel as well as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney!

Upon getting May’s call, Tony calls in a suit and makes a straight path for Queens. As he’s flying through upstate New York, his thoughts wander to Peter.

 

 _“He only gets like this under intense emotional distress… What could have possibly happened to trigger his condition?”_ he begins his thought, taking a pause as he notices the faint spectacle of the Avengers Tower on the horizon.

 

 _“Guess I’ll have to find out when I get there…”_ he breaks again, taking glances to the illuminated buildings of Manhattan surrounding the superhero HQ. Inadvertently, he visualizes the web slinging vigilante swinging around these structures fighting local crime. As he imagines the scenario, another thought crosses his mind.

 

 _“What was he doing out so late anyway? His suit’s still with me so there’s no way he could’ve been out on patrol. Unless…”_ Tony thinks, picturing Peter walking into his apartment donned in his red and blue “onesie” outfit.

 

 _“Forget it, if I have to explain to his aunt he’s Spiderman then fine.”_ he contemplates, acknowledging the chance before finalizing his resolve.

 

 _“Just hang on Peter, I’m coming.”_ Tony ends his thought, the determined look on his face hidden under the suit’s helmet.

 

The man presses on, racing past the Manhattan area towards his destination. For every minute that passes, he feels a growing sense of restlessness pervade his nerves, his mind screaming to just get there already.

 

A half an hour later, before his exasperation can get the best of his declining stability, Tony finds himself in the borough of Queens. He continues flying until the spiderling’s home comes into his field of vision, promptly coming to a sudden drop at the building’s entrance.

 

 _“Better late than never.”_ Tony thinks with slight sarcasm, allowing his body to appease his impatience from the flight.

 

The genius ejects from the armor, ordering his A.I to engage the suit’s security measures. After receiving confirmation from F.R.I.D.A.Y he proceeds towards the apartment complex.

 

He sends a text to May to buzz him in, allowing the man access to their apartment. Once he’s at the door, he knocks gently to avoid raising alarm.

 

“Tony?” May calls, wariness in her voice.

 

“It’s me.” the man replies.

 

“It’s open.” she answers back.

 

At that he opens the door to see May slouched over the couch, palms pressed against her chin as she turns her head towards her nephew’s mentor. Tony takes a note of the woman’s features, her hair is all over the place and her eyes just read exhaustion, making it clear just how tedious this situation has been for her.

 

Even so, Tony doesn’t miss a beat, “How is he?” he asks, concern laced in his voice.

 

“Same as when I called you. He’s in his room, still awake and won’t say anything…” she replies with a somewhat broken voice, indicating that she’s struggling to keep it together.

 

The man notices this then nods, “And how are you holding up?” he asks. Even though the answer is obvious, he prefers to voice his concerns. The spiderling’s aunt turns her attention towards her nephew’s door then speaks.

 

“Worried… to say the least…” she begins with a sigh, “I just... don’t know what this is…” May ends there, her eyes beginning to water after her last statement.

 

Detecting her increasing distress, Tony walks towards the boy’s aunt and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

“He’ll be okay, he’s a strong kid.” he pauses, noticing the tense feeling beginning to leave the woman’s body. “Is it alright if I check on him?” he inquires.

 

May looks back at the genius’s face with a minute smile of sadness on her face.

 

“Please.” she states softly, gesturing the man towards Peter’s room.

 

Tony releases his hand and nods at the woman with a soft grin, proceeding towards the boy’s room before coming to a stop at the door.

 

“Tony?” May asks from behind, drawing the attention of the man in question.

 

He looks back at her, motioning for her next word.

 

“I’m really sorry about all of this. Thank you so much for coming.” she states, a mixture of gratitude and sorrow in her voice.

 

He gives her another soft look before speaking, “You don’t have to apologize. I’m always happy to help Peter.” he says, feeling nothing but truth in his tone.

 

She returns the smile, prompting for the man to continue onward. Tony turns his face back to the door, sighing in preparation as he grips tightly on the door handle.

 

 _“Calm down. Calm down. You can do this... for him.”_ he thinks, trying to hide the growing pit of dread in his stomach at what he’s about to witness again.

 

“Do you need me in there with you?” May asks, almost as if sensing the man’s increasing discomfort.

 

Not looking back, Tony takes a short pause before responding, “I’ll be fine.” he says with a serious tone.

 

“I’ll be right by the door just in case.” she replies softly.

 

Glancing over his shoulder to the see the woman getting up, Tony nods in acknowledgement at the reassurance. Tightening his grip on the handle, he slowly turns the knob and gradually opens the door.

 

The room is pitch black, much to the inconvenience of the man’s vision. He takes a guess that the boy is experiencing a sensory overload, so for the kid’s sake Tony refrains from turning on the lights.

 

Instead, he puts a hand in his pocket and grabs his signature pair of sunglasses. After he puts them on, he calls onto his A.I.

 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, initiate ‘Night-Light Mode’.” the genius whispers.

 

In response, his perspective is filled with realistically artificial lighting that permeates the room, satisfying the man’s optical needs. The purpose of this design is actually quite trivial, Tony simply dislikes the traditional green night-vision style.

 

As he takes in his now irradiated surroundings, he notices the young figure laying down facing the wall on the bed across from him. Much to the genius’s relief, Peter’s not wearing his original Spiderman suit, just a grey zipped-up hoodie and jeans.

 

 _“That’s one less of an issue.”_ he thinks in his mind, attention still focused on the kid.

 

Tony closes the door behind him and begins to take tentative steps, approaching the boy with proportionately accelerating anxiety. Just as he’s reached the cot, the man motions his hand to the kid’s shoulder and hesitates.

 

Before he is able to do anything else, the spiderling speaks up.

 

“I’m awake just so you know.” Peter says with an almost-mechanical voice.

 

Tony gives a short stare before replying. “You have your aunt really worried kid.” the mentor states factly.

 

“Really?” Peter asks, with a now nearly indistinguishable tone of hurt in his voice. Tony notices this however, he doesn’t understand the meaning behind it.

 

“Well of course Peter. I mean, first you go missing then this happens and you won’t even talk to her-” Tony starts with a confused tone, before getting interrupted by the kid.

 

“Just my aunt cares?” the boy asks, venom now seeping into his voice. His skin color normalizes at a frighteningly rapid rate, alarming his mentor to the developing toxicity of their exchange. Unfortunately, the man loses his sense of composure at the spontaneous transition.

 

Tony frowns at the kid before continuing, “What? You think I don’t?” he asks, pain laced in his voice at the accusation.

 

“Pfft…” Peter scoffs in response.

 

 _“If you even cared you’d actually be here.”_ Tony reminisces his pupil’s assertion from the ferry incident, beginning to feel aggravated at the boy’s unfair behavior.

 

The man sighs in frustration, “Why do you think I came then, huh? I’m here for you kid, because I do care.” he says, putting emphasis on his last words.

 

Peter turns his head towards his mentor with a blank stare, returning to his previous posture as if to dismiss the man.

 

“Whatever.” the kid simply says.

 

Feeling his patience wearing thin, Tony catches himself before he can say something regretful. Once he feels his body starting to relax, he formulates a response.

 

“Listen Peter, I-” he starts, immediately getting interrupted by the kid’s raised voice.

 

“Just stop! I’ll be fine, you should know that! So back off already!” he exclaims, suddenly getting up from his bed which causes Tony to recoil in shock.

 

“What’s going on?” May demands, switching on the lights as she bursts into the room.

 

The genius groans in discomfort at the sudden change in lighting in his eyewear. He puts away the piece, trying to regain his bearings as he glances between the spiderling and aunt.

 

May looks at her nephew, noticing his skin has regained color as well as the anger radiating from his aura, she decides to speak up.

 

“Peter… honey-” she begins however, Peter abruptly cuts her off.

 

“I said I’m fine! I’m not hurt or anything so quit staring at me already!” he snaps at his aunt. At that Tony breaks from his daze and puts his foot down.

 

“That’s enough Peter, we’re just concerned for you! Why are you trying to push us away?” the man yells, in attempt to reason with the boy.

 

In response, Peter turns his head down away from his mentor and aunt. Tony spots the boy’s distress and allows himself to calm down before approaching his pupil. He motions for May to stay put, who hesitantly agrees, and places a soft reassuring hand on the kid’s shoulder.

 

In response the spiderling violently shoves the man’s arm away, and quickly backs against the wall to avoid further touch.

 

Since he has super strength, the force from the push left a lingering pain on Tony’s arm. Instead of reacting to his own discomfort however, the genius makes another attempt to reach out to the boy.

 

Sensing the man moving towards him, Peter snaps his head back at his mentor, revealing the tears that have been threatening to escape his eyes to the two adults in front of him.

 

Noticing her nephew’s features, May beats Tony to the punch and speaks up, “Peter… sweetie we’re not mad, but Tony’s right. We’re worried about you, and obviously something’s bothering you. But… we just don’t understand… what’s wrong? Please, you can tell us.” she offers softly, as she walks towards the boy.

 

“Just… just leave me alone...” Peter says, turning his attention to his aunt as he tries to move further back against the wall to put more distance from her. This seems to work, as it stops the woman in her tracks.

 

Seeing the situation going further south, Tony makes another attempt with the kid. “Peter-” he starts, only to get disrupted by the boy.

 

“I said leave me alone! Like you actually care… like you ever did!” he yells at his mentor.

 

As if by instinct, Tony raises his voice in pure fury towards the boy’s false claims, “Of course I do Peter! I’m your f-...” he starts, quickly losing his rhythm and freezes at the last phrase.

 

The kid seems to notice this and gives his mentor a shocked expression as he grips the zipper of his hoodie protectively. Tony however, doesn’t perceive the boy’s reaction as he’s too worked up to process his surroundings.

 

The silence that follows gives Peter’s aunt the chance to speak up.

 

“What did you mean by that? Your his what Tony?” May asks, whose concern is all replaced by genuine confusion.

 

Tony looks down shamefully, “It’s nothing... I-I-I… I’m just in shock of this whole thing is all…” he starts, looking at the woman who reluctantly nods at his answer. Accepting the gesture, the man then returns his attention to Peter, who still seems to be disoriented.

 

Taking this as his cue, the mentor places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Before he can say anything, he feels faint trembles around the skin of his palm, but they’re not coming from his own body. Focusing more carefully on the spiderling, he discerns that something is very wrong with the kid’s behavior.

 

Peter’s eyes flip behind his sockets, leaving nothing but blank spheres of white to show. His whole body immediately shifts from soft jerking to rapid and violent tremors as he continues to shake erratically against his mentor’s hand.

 

Tony quickly realizes that the boy is experiencing a severe sensory overload.

 

 _“Oh no… Dammit! Shit!”_ Tony curses in his mind, consequently letting go of the boy and failing to notice the panicked state of May who rushes to Peter’s side.

 

“Peter?! Peter?! Tony what’s wrong with him?! Tony?! Tony please!!” the woman exclaims, desperately trying to grab the man’s attention, who appears staggered.

 

He’s soon brought back into his surroundings once May grabs at his arm, still pleading for her nephew. Understanding that more hysteria will not help this situation, the man allows himself to recover all sense of composure he can muster before acting.

 

“Tony!! Peter’s-” she rants, Tony cuts her off.

 

“He’s having a seizure.” he starts calmly, moving forward to gently hold the spiderling in a stable posture.

 

Taking a momentary sigh, Tony continues, “All we can do for him is to just let him pass through it. He’ll be fine May, I swear.” he says, his voice nearly quivering at the end.

 

 _“I swear to you kid.”_ Tony commits in his head, fully aware of his dishonesty to the boy’s aunt but instead justified it for his pupil’s sake.

 

He ignores the sobs coming from the woman as he places Peter onto his bed as delicately as possible, taking care not to do anything that might hurt the spiderling.

 

Moving away from the cot, he and May can only watch as the boy’s “seizure” unfolds, waiting for it to just end.

 

Peter’s aunt continues to sob at the helplessness she feels at the situation. Even though doing nothing is best, she still can’t help the guilt that she can’t do anything more for her nephew. Tony glances at the woman, registering the despair in her behavior, and decides to move closer to her as if to offer emotional support.

 

She looks back at the boy’s mentor, recognizing the close proximity between her and Tony. Not taking care to consider his comfort zone, May practically falls onto him, her entire frame leaning onto his body as she continues to cry into his shoulder.

 

Tony doesn’t care however, cause he knows what she’s going through first hand. It crosses his mind that May’s never had to see Peter like this, considering the way she reacted and because the only recorded times this has occurred were during the boy’s patrols, outside of her supervision.

 

The mentor continues to stand where he is, feeling nothing but empathy with the woman in his touch, remembering the same painful feelings that ran through his every nerve as he had to watch the boy go through that ordeal in the cemetery.

 

Slowly, Tony allows himself to put his arm around May’s body, offering as much comfort as he possibly could for the person that raised Peter.

 

While consoling the woman, the boy in front of him slowly but surely relaxes as his movement moderates to deep breaths. In relief, the storms that clouded the minds of both the mentor and aunt begin to alleviate. Tony takes this chance to reflect on his own thoughts, mainly regarding his pupil.

 

 _“I don’t get it… why did he have one now of all times?”_ Tony begins his thought, thinking back to when the spiderling’s A.I explained the phenomenon.

 

 _“...It seems that the extreme cases are only triggered when he is exposed to something that reminds him of intense trauma, mainly near death situations.”_ the voice of K.A.R.E.N replays in the man’s head.

 

 _“But there’s nothing in here to remind him of falling rubble.”_ the mentor ponders, glancing his eyes around to make sure there are no subtle distinctions of concrete in the room.

 

Concluding that his theory is valid, Tony tries to make alternative conjectures as to why this incident occurred.

 

 _“Maybe the circumstances were different… It seemed like an overload, but the trigger couldn’t have related to the Vulture, it had to have been something just as traumatizing for him… But… what then? What was he focused on when it happened?”_ he thinks, all traces of confusion being overlapped by frustration.

 

 _“Dammit! What-”_ his train thought is interrupted by the voice of May, who seems to be reaching out to him.

 

“Tony?” she asks, grabbing the man’s arm, “Tony please, this is important.” she ends, after successfully getting his attention.

 

Instead of verbally replying, Tony looks at the woman with an expectant look, waiting for what she has to say. May takes this as her cue and speaks.

 

“I have to ask you a huge favor, if it’s okay? ...It’s for Peter’s sake.” she says, taking a pause to let the man process the statement.

 

“What is it?” he asks gently, in an attempt to encourage her. May closes her eyes and looks down doubtfully as she continues, afraid to ask from uncertainty that Peter’s last words to the man were true.

 

“I know I might be asking too much, but-” she stops, as she feels a hand grip her shoulder. The woman looks back up to Tony, whose face practically reads empathy, that he cares about the boy just as much as May does.

 

Feeling renewed confidence in the man, she resumes, “I don’t understand what’s going on and… I’m scared that what I’m doing now… if it’s helping him, or hurting him… I just don’t know.” she says, staring at her nephew and then back at Tony.

 

“We both saw the way he acted… and his skin… I’m not saying I don’t want to help, that’s all I really want to be able to do for him but…” May pauses, taking a deep breath before proceeding again.

 

“I think… you should take him back with you tonight because... right now, he really needs you Tony.” she states, determination in her last phrase.

 

Tony feels completely dumbstruck, it’s not that he’s upset that May would trust him this much with her nephew. He’s puzzled that if she saw what he saw moments ago, she should know what Peter said to him right before his ‘seizure’. Why isn’t she even the slightest apprehensive towards the man after that?

 

The boy’s aunt seems to sense the man’s confusion and speaks again, “I know what he said to you, and to be honest, I was almost scared it was true. But from what I saw, you came all this way for him, and even when he lashed out on you in front of me, you didn’t turn your back on him.” she pauses.

 

“And when he had that seizure, I just panicked the whole time while you... you just handled it…  and took way better care of him than I ever could in that situation. That’s not something someone who couldn’t care less would do.” she says, taking a deep breath to finalize her speech.

 

“I was wrong to jump to conclusions about you when we were both on the spot, and I’m really sorry about that.” May starts again, taking another glance to her nephew before continuing, “But Peter needs help, I don’t know what it is or how to fix it, and I seriously doubt this is something any normal doctor can look into.” she says, looking back to the mentor.

 

“The only one I can actually trust with Peter is you... So please Tony… I’m begging you… do whatever it takes to help him.” May ends, desperation reaching her voice.

 

Tony only stares at the woman, and unbeknownst to her, his mind is screaming anxiety as he thinks about the boy. Mainly because of the pain that lingered after the fraudulent accusation that he didn’t care for his pupil.

 

Before the mentor has the chance to curse at himself for considering these selfish thoughts, May speaks again, mistaking his hesitation as unwillingness.

 

“I understand if this is too much for you… but please… I could never forgive myself if he got hurt because I wasn’t able to-” she starts, immediately stopping as soon as a pair of hands lay on her shoulders.

 

Tony holds his position on the boy’s aunt, giving her a soft reassuring look before voicing himself.

 

“I told you before May, I’m always happy to help Peter. I’ll take him back to the compound, and I’ll make sure everything will be just fine, I promise.” he pauses, giving the woman a moment to process this before continuing, “And don’t ever think you’re helpless when it comes to your nephew. The fact that you’re trusting me because you believe it’s in his best interest already shows how far you’d go for him.” he states, taking a moment to look at the faint smile forming on her lips.

 

Tony takes this as his cue to finalize his word, “May you’ve done amazing tonight, this is not a normal situation, and I agree, I’d be surprised if you were prepared for this. But you’re a strong person… and Peter needs you to be strong. Can you continue to do that for him?”  he asks, giving the woman a hopeful look.

 

May looks at the mentor with a genuine smile and nods. Satisfied with her response, Tony motions towards Peter, his protectiveness of the boy completely overriding any sense of doubt or unease in his body.

 

He picks up the kid’s frame in a bridal fashion, and turns around to see May opening the door. Nodding at the woman in thanks, he proceeds with her and Peter in tow until they’ve exited the apartment building, coming to a halt once they’ve reached the idle Iron Man suit.

 

“Can you carry him for one second?” Tony asks May, putting his arms out for her to take the boy.

 

“Yeah, sure.” she courtly obliges, holding onto her nephew in a similar fashion as the man.

 

Before getting into his armor, the man steals a quick glance at the woman holding the boy, smirking as he notes how the roles seem to be reversed in the picture in front of him.

 

“What’s so funny?” May asks, furrowing her eyes in confusion.

 

“Nothing, it’s just…” Tony replies, pointing at their position.

 

May seems to grasp the insinuation as she rolls her eyes, “Oh haha…” she sarcastically replies.

 

The mentor chuckles, then proceeds to enter the suit. After making sure F.R.I.D.A.Y’s online, he returns his attention back to the duo and motions for the boy.

 

Once Peter is secured into his arms, Tony gives May one final look and activates his boot jets.

 

Just as he’s a three feet off the ground, the woman calls out to him.

 

“Tony!” she says, raising her voice over the uproar of the armor.

 

He looks back at her, expecting her next word.

 

“I can’t say it enough. Thank you so much for all you’ve done for Peter.” she says, with a sad yet grateful demeanor on her face.

 

“You’re very welcome Ms. Parker.” Tony says with slight humor, receiving a small laugh from the woman in response.

 

At that, Tony gives a nod in goodbye and soars away, holding Peter as gently as he possibly could as they head towards their destination.

 

During their flight, his mind wanders back to his previous thoughts before taking the boy with him.

 

 _“What was going on in your head back there?”_ the mentor asks to the boy in his thoughts, as he recalls further details disclosed to him by K.A.R.E.N regarding the spiderling’s sensory overloads.

 

 _“...It’s not quite a seizure, though understandable as to why it can mistaken as one at first glance, because when a person suffers from this their consciousness is still there. That’s not quite the case with Peter, as he enters a state between consciousness and subconsciousness.”_ the phrase repeats his mind.

 

 _“Maybe I could have his A.I run through-... dammit!”_ Tony begins, as he considers letting K.A.R.E.N go through the video footage from his sunglasses again. He immediately drops the idea as he realizes he took off his eyepiece right before the boy’s episode.

 

Tony continues to conceptualize his options, trying to find the best course to get an explanation as to what happened earlier.

 

**Some time later…**

 

 _“I guess I’m on my own here. Alright then, what else do I have to go on?”_ he thinks, trying to glean more information from last week.

 

 _“...It would seem that his subconscious mind was focused on protecting him from falling pillars and rubble, which is what you saw sir.”_ the A.I’s voice replays.

 

 _“But that’s not what hashed out. First he got all riled up, then all of a sudden he flipped….”_ the man ponders, before a new thought arises.

 

 _“Well, it’s probably a stretch... but maybe his subconscious was focused primarily on his anger. It might as well make sense, it was what he was putting out there. The only thing that wouldn’t make sense then is why he was angry. None of it adds up, why did he think I didn’t care about him?”_ he contemplates, pausing his thought as he just now notices the compound nearing his vicinity. Tony turns his head towards the boy in his arms and makes his next decision.

 

 _“Let’s get him in bed first.”_ he elects, as he commands F.R.I.D.A.Y to open the window to Peter’s room.

 

As soon as the A.I complies, the man slowly flies in through the entrance, taking extra caution as the boy is still in his arms.

 

He places Peter down onto his bed, and disengages his suit, promptly instructing F.R.I.D.A.Y to return it to the lab.

 

Now in the absence of his armor, Tony feels essentially alone in the room, mind the sleeping boy on the cot in front of him. The mentor takes this moment of silence to muse his previous thoughts.

 

 _“I think I got your subconscious thoughts down kid, I hope, but that still leaves…”_ he begins, stopping as something catches his eye. He looks to the boy’s hoodie, to which until now he didn’t care to consider why it was zipped up in the first place. It wasn’t until he saw what was peeking out of it that he decided to inspect.

 

The man unzips the apparel, promptly taking the revealed contents and holding it out in front his face.

 

 _“A file?”_ Tony thinks, but before he has the chance to read what’s inside, Peter murmurs in his sleep.

 

“Tony…” the kid slurs, clearly still asleep. His mentor glances at his pupil momentarily, but opts to not say anything so he can return to examining the folder in his hands.

 

His fingers barely touch the edge of the sleeve when the boy speaks again. It’s his next words that immediately puts Tony to a halt, whose heart drops as he stares in horror at Peter, too shocked to even dare to move.

 

Though the instant has passed, the phrase continuously repeats in the man’s head, tormenting him through each iteration. Eventually, he regains enough nerve to steady himself onto a nearby desk as the words replay one last time, a lone tear escaping his eye.

 

_“You’re my real father…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always I will try to write each new chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always constructive criticism is appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has found his true heritage, yet only more questions have arose. 
> 
> How did he find out? What were the circumstances that led to this eventuality?
> 
> Questions... to which the past will answer to.
> 
> (***A prelude to Chapter 7 - Part 1***)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Main Note:
> 
> This chapter’s going to backtrack a bit rather than go forward, I know that might not necessarily be a popular decision but trust me, I need it to be this way in order for the story to flow the way I want it to. 
> 
> Side Note:
> 
> SO SORRY AGAIN. This semester has just been utter chaos, so I haven’t had a lot of free time lately. And unfortunately I’m in the middle of finals, so more chaos. But you know what they say, the show must go on right? Getting this chapter in has been pretty slow… I know, I’m sorry… and to tell you the truth, writing with a tired mind and so little free time is very counter-intuitive. Which is part of the reason why sometimes I take forever, because I’d much rather write an actual thought-out chapter and take a while rather than writing procrastinated content in five hours. 
> 
> I’m adding a tag “Irregular Updates” in case I have to take it easy for awhile guys. Thanks so much in advance for understanding.

 

**A week prior…**

 

After giving a goodbye to his mentor, Peter and his aunt made their way to the hospital where Ned was checked in. Upon reaching the facility, they are met with his parents in the waiting room, the mother whom was seen sniffling under her husband’s comfort.

Ned’s father looks over and notices the two approaching them, gently shaking his wife’s shoulder to prompt her attention.

Peter speaks up first, “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Leeds...” he starts gently.

“Hey you two, thank you so much for coming, we really appreciate it.” Mr. Leeds says with a light grin. His wife composes herself and nods with a sad smile in agreement.

“It’s no problem at all, anything we can do to help Ned.” May says kindly.

The parents nod in thanks, immediately prompting the nephew and aunt duo to take a seat next to them. They sit there quietly for a few seconds before May speaks up.

“How is he?” she asks sympathetically. 

“We don’t know, we came as soon as they called, but they haven’t told us anything so far.” Ned’s father states, uncertainty in his voice.

Both Peter and May nod at that, taking note at the unease of the situation, they decide to not press the topic further and continue in silence. Moments later, the mother speaks up.

“It can’t be serious…please... oh my God, our baby… It’s our fault…” she says, her voice beginning to tremble.

Mr. Leeds looks at his wife and folds his hand against hers before speaking, “No Rachel, don’t talk like that it’s no-” he starts, but his wife interrupts him.

“Yes it is Nathan! How could you even think it’s not?! This is our son for God’s sake!” Ned’s mother shouts in agitation. 

“I know, I get that honey it’s just-” the father starts gently, to which his wife quickly interrupts.

“Just nothing! Don’t even try to say otherwise! He’s our responsibility, we were supposed to keep him safe and now-” Rachel exclaims, getting up from her seat as she pulls away from her husband’s hold. Nathan is quick to intervene.

“And now it happened, and he got hurt!” Ned’s father exclaims, with a subtle hint of pain in his voice. His wife takes a step backward at that, an expression of hurt and fear pervading her face at her husband’s assertion.

Peter is about to make a stand to end the conflict, but May quickly grabs his hand and lowers him back to his seat. He looks at his aunt confused but almost immediately understands her reasoning upon noticing her features, a look of pure protective resolve. The expression is the very same one that she and Ben made whenever the need to keep him safe showed. He remembers it most prominently from the Stark Expo, when he was reunited with his uncle and aunt shortly after Iron Man came to his rescue, the emotion never left their faces for even a second the rest of that night. 

Here however, the expression carries a different meaning, and the spiderling is quick to realize it. 

_ “He’s their son Peter. I get that you’re worried too, but it’s not your place to get in between their concerns for him. Just give them time to settle down on their own, and keep your chin up for Ned. Trust me, everything will be back to peachy before you know it.”  _ the implication crosses the boy’s mind, to which he reluctantly obligates to.

Peter nods to his aunt and slinks back into his seat, briefly returning his attention to his best friend’s parents arguing.

Ned’s father notes the way his wife stares at him apprehensively, he allows himself to compose his mind before resuming.

“Rachel I’m sorry I said that, but just listen to me…” he starts softly, and slowly wraps the woman into a gentle hug as she resumes to sob again onto her husband.

“I’m not trying to shift the blame here okay? You’re right, he’s our son and no matter what, anything that happens to him is on us…” Nathan pauses as his wife grips him harder, prompting the man to evaluate his next words.

“But getting worked up from the guilt isn’t gonna make the situation better. And right now, we can’t really do anything to help it except hope for him… I know you wanna do more, believe me I want to also-” he states, but his wife cuts him off.

“No you’re right Nathan…” she starts, taking a momentary sigh before continuing. 

“It’s just… this whole thing… not knowing what’s going on... it has me all messed up. But… we can’t afford to have any doubts now, that wouldn’t be fair for him.” Rachel says, pulling away from the hug to look at her husband with a small smile.

Nathan smiles back at her before responding. “You bet it wouldn’t.” he says softly, gesturing his wife for them to return to their seats.

As they get comfortable, Rachel glances over to May and Peter. “I’m so sorry that you had to see that.” she says remorsefully.

“No, it’s okay really… you just needed to let it out… I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes...” May replies warmly, sadness subtly laced in her voice towards the end.

The spiderling notices the way his aunt’s demeanor faintly downcasts as she finishes her last statement. Without even needing to voice his concerns, he takes a good guess as to what’s on her mind.

_ “I’ve been calling you all day, you didn’t answer your phone. You can’t do that. Then this ferry thing happens… I’ve called five police stations. Five. I called five of your friends. I called Ned’s mother… Cut the bullshit… Peter, you have to tell me what’s going on!” _ his aunt’s moment of desperation relays in his mind.

Peter looks down to the floor, feeling a wave of guilt from what his recklessness as Spiderman caused for May, regardless of the fact that she was and still is unaware of the truth behind her nephew’s actions.

She seems to notice his change in behavior, and wraps her hand around Peter’s to get his attention. The boy looks to his aunt, who gives him a reassuring smile that all of that is fine now, the past is in the past. 

He returns the smile to May, and the two resume their silent wait alongside Ned’s parents.

 

**Some time later…**

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Leeds?” a voice calls out. 

Ned’s parents, as well as Peter and May look up towards the source. A nurse is beckoning to them from the opposite end of the room. 

Nathan and Rachel quickly walk towards her, followed by the latter two in tow.

“How is he? Is he okay?” the mother asks shakingly.

The nurse bites her lip, as if trying to find the best way to break bad tidings.

“Your son is… currently stable. He’s suffered very severe injuries, but in due time we’re confident that he should make a steady recovery.” she says gently.

At that, the father begins to break. “Well, wait…! What happened to him?!” Nathan asks in a panicked tone.

She looks towards the man, then softly sighs before speaking. “He’s been… maimed.” the nurse says slowly, unsettled by her usage of the word.

“What?! How?!” Rachel quickly asks, fear laced in her tone.

“We… don’t know. Apparently he was found unconscious in an alleyway by a passerby who brought him in this morning. His disfigurement is just… God, I’m so sorry… it’s appalling…” the nurse pauses, feeling the weight of her words beginning to unravel her resolve.  

She catches herself just before Ned’s mother goes down in tears. “But I assure you... our doctors are more than capable. He’s in good hands.” she says gently and confidently. 

The parents just stand there in shock, both of whom are at this point hyperventilating. As they struggle to get their bearings, Peter remains behind the two, feeling intense emotions of despair for his best friend.

_ “Ned! No! Why you?! Oh my God! No! I can’t- I don’t- no, please, no, no!”  _ he thinks frantically as his growing panic fluctuates. Fearing that the severity of his anxiety will induce a sensory overload or any unwanted Spiderman side-effects, he makes a quick decision and latches on to his aunt’s arm for comfort. 

May glances to her nephew upon contact and wraps her arm around his shoulder to reassure him. Peter, however, is quick to notice the increasing strain in the woman’s hold as she returns to look to the distressed couple. 

After another moment, Ned’s father steels enough nerve to speak.

“Can... can we see him?” his voice shakes.

“Of course.” she simply says, gesturing for the two to follow her to Ned’s room.

Before the group can leave the waiting room, the nurse turns her attention to Peter and May.

“I’m very sorry, but I’m gonna have to ask you two to wait here for the time being. Until further notice, our doctors are only permitting family members in.” she states apologetically.

Before the spiderling can protest, his aunt places a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay Peter, we’ll just sit back here till then.” May says to her nephew, promptly looking back to Nathan and Rachel. “Ned will be just fine. After all, who else would be there to protect this kiddo?” she states in a cheery tone as she pinches her boy’s cheek, eliciting a light chuckle from the couple and a groan from the kid.

After a few seconds, Rachel speaks up to Peter and May. “Well, our son is definitely a tough cookie for sure… but you two... thank you so much again for coming to support Ned, it really means a lot.” she says gratefully.

“Like I said, it’s no problem at all, we’ll stay here as long as we need to.” May states sincerely to the mother.

At that, the parents nod in thanks before turning back to join the nurse, leaving the aunt and nephew duo alone in the waiting room.

As they return to their seats, the boy looks up to his aunt and speaks. “How long will we have to wait?” he asks.

May gives him a soft look and sighs. “To tell you the truth Peter, I honestly don’t know-” she starts, before getting cut off abruptly by the boy.

“But you said he’ll be fine!” the spiderling exclaims as he shoots up from his seat.

His aunt grabs his arm, causing him to calm down a bit. “Of course I did, and I meant it...” she starts gently.

“Then why?” Peter asks hesitantly, his voice trembling.

“Oh sweetie…” May says, grabbing the distraught boy into her arms before continuing. “I would never say anything I don’t mean. Never to Ned, nor his parents, and most of all you…” she pauses to run her hand through her nephew’s hair in a soothing motion.

As the boy’s body begins to relax, his aunt speaks again. “Ned will be fine, I’m confident he will be Peter… but these things take time, and sometimes even a day isn’t enough…all we can really do for now is just chin up” she starts again.

May sighs and shifts her hold on her nephew. “Look at me…” she gently commands, and the spiderling looks up to his guardian. “you keep your chin up for him okay? No matter how long it takes.”

Peter then smiles to his aunt, nodding in response and resting his head against her shoulder in comfort. “Yeah… Thanks May...” he says.

“Anytime…” his aunt replies.

About ten minutes or so after the boy calmed down enough to return to his seat, May gets up to look for a bathroom. Before she leaves, she addresses to her nephew.

“I’m just gonna go to the restroom. Will you be okay by yourself for a bit?” she asks.

“I’ll be alright.” he replies with a smile.

At that, May returns the gesture and takes her leave, leaving Peter alone in his thoughts.

_ “Ned… I’m holding out for you buddy… please… ” _ he thinks in deep concentration. Moments later, his muse is broken by a tingling sensation in the back of his head.

Instantly, the spiderling recognizes this feeling as his “Spidey-Sense”, and he is quick to survey his surroundings for any signs of potential danger. 

His eyes look up and narrow onto a window behind him, where he remains fixated on the object in question. He only continues to stare up at the the glass opening, determined to figure out what his sense seemed to pick off from that source.

As strange as it may seem, his instincts are telling him that even though there’s clearly nothing there, something’s watching him like a predator creeping on its prey. And whatever... or whoever he sensed from the window is still waiting for him to drop his guard the moment he turns his back.

Almost as if on cue, his concentration is broken by the sound of his aunt’s voice.

“What’re are you looking at?” May asks with a confused tone, prompting Peter to snap his attention to the woman.

“Uh… nothing.” the boy replies awkwardly, in an attempt to avoid sharing details that relate to Spiderman in any way.

“It sure didn’t seem like nothing. What’s the matter?” she asks worriedly, frowning towards the window that her nephew was just looking at.

“Just… trying to distract myself. Cause ya know, I do that a lot.” Peter states casually, shrugging his shoulders as if to emphasize his point. 

“Hmm… well alright, if you say so.” May says, seemingly satisfied with that answer. Holding back a sigh of relief, the boy simply nods at that as his aunt returns to her seat. 

As they resume waiting, the spiderling dwells his thoughts back to his disturbance from earlier.

_ “Maybe it was nothing… but then again, my “Spidey-Sense” hasn’t been wrong so far... So what could’ve that been?”  _ he thinks, consciously avoiding a glance to the window knowing his aunt would suspect something.

The boy then notices that his sense has dissipated. While this does take some of the weight off his shoulders, he still can’t help the lingering unease that there’s more to that occurrence than meets the eye. 

_ “...That’s… weird.” _ he muses briefly, before eventually deciding to drop it for now in favor of holding up for Ned’s sake.

Peter then grabs his phone, and proceeds to scroll through anything to just keep his mind away from the stress. He ends up looking through old text messages, and stops his thumb when he reaches his mentor’s tab.

He then pauses to take a moment to look at his last few texts with Tony.

_ (Peter: I’ll be outside faster than I can deactivate instant-kill. Thanks Mr. Stark.) _

_ (Tony: 98% sure I was drunk when I installed that setting, anyways no problem kid.) _

Upon reading these, the boy then remembers the last thing that the man told him before they left for the cemetary on Friday.

_ “...If you have an issue with anything, and I mean anything, you can come to me, I could never turn away from you.”  _ Tony’s words replay in Peter’s mind.

The boy begins to ponder whether he should bring up the situation with Ned to his mentor… as well as his recent peculiar sixth sense episode.

_ “Should I…?”  _ the kid internally asks himself, before a new thought arises.

_ “He did say for anything but… he also seemed to have a lot on his mind after Saturday night…” _ he thinks, reminiscing that night he spent comforting his distressed mentor.

_ “Plus he was acting kinda funny this morning…”  _ he says in his head, remembering how awkward Tony was acting even during the most mundane of activities like breakfast, chatting, or just watching a movie. The boy did catch on, but he justified to leaving them alone for the sake of not freaking the man out more than he already was. 

_ “...and he probably wouldn’t have been in that spot if it weren’t for me...” _ he muses, guilt wrapping around his mind in realization that everything that happened during the weekend led up to the man’s stress… and unfortunately, Peter was the key.

_ “Ah man…” _ he ends his thought there, putting his phone away as he does, deciding that giving his mentor space was for the best.

And so, he opts to wait for the remainder of time in silence.

 

**An hour later…**

 

“Hey you two!” a masculine voice calls from the end of the room.

Peter and May look up to the source to see Nathan and the nurse calling them over. They then get up, and quickly walk over to the duo.

Once they’re more up close, Peter notices the dry tear-stains evident on the father’s face, and it doesn’t take two guesses to figure out why.

There’s a short pause, and then the nurse speaks up. “...Would you like me to explain the situation?” she hesitantly asks the man. 

“No I got this, thank you...” Nathan says, subtly in his tone.

The nurse then nods in understanding. “We won’t give up, I assure you Mr. Leeds. Your son will be okay in no time.” she reminds the man, who gives her an appreciative look in return.

At that, she glances towards Peter and May and smiles in acknowledgement, then excuses herself to return to her current duties.

As the three are then left alone, Nathan takes a deep breath as he returns his attention to the nephew and aunt duo.

“H-he’s…” he begins, quickly losing his composure.

“Hey, hey… take your time.” May soothes the man.

The father takes another deep breath before continuing. “He’s gonna be okay… but God… that didn’t make it any easier to watch…” he begins, as he takes another breather.

“He was just so broken… everything… and just watching them do surgery on him… I-I couldn’t-he… just...  how could anyone hurt a kid…? My kid…” Nathan says as he begins to lose his balance. At that, the spiderling quickly grips the man’s torso to steady him.

“Thanks Peter...” the man states gratefully.

The boy simply nods, gesturing for the man to proceed at his own pace. But unbeknownst to his aunt and Ned’s father, Peter is internally struggling to not lash out in frustration from the overwhelming pain for his friend.

_ “Oh Ned…”  _ the boy thinks dreadfully, feeling a hard lump in his throat as his emotions continue to build up.

His moment of grief is interrupted as Nathan sighs in attempted relief, promptly pulling himself away from Peter’s hold. 

“I’m sorry, it’s all too much right now…” the man begins.

“No, no… it’s okay, I understand Nathan…” May replies softly.

The father gives her a thankful look, a small hopeful smile on her features, but it quickly drops to a look of sorrow as he seems to ponder his next words.

“Take your time Mr. Leeds…” Peter states in response to the man’s change in demeanor.

Nathan glances to his son’s friend, nodding at his understanding before speaking up. “I think for now… I’ll just leave the details at that… talking about it is already too hard to handle right now.” he begins.

May gives him an empathetic look. “I get it… I’d definitely feel the same way.” she says gently.

_ “God forbid...” _ the unspoken implication crosses Peter’s mind as his aunt finishes.

There’s a short pause after, and the boy takes that moment to speak up.

“I uh… will we be able to see him...?” he asks timidly, his mind just screaming to see Ned.

“Peter…” May scolds calmly, feeling disappointed in her nephew’s insensitivity.

The boy then notices that was indeed an inconsiderate thing to say, but for truth’s sake, it was out of weakness and irrationality for his best friend.

He’s opens his mouth to apologize, but Nathan speaks up first.

“It’s alright Pete… but uh…” he pauses, sighing as he considers his next sentence.

“About that… the doctor’s still not taking visitors, just me and Rachel for now. That’s why Susan was here earlier.” he says, nodding his head behind him in emphasis. 

Peter and May are left slightly confused, to which Nathan clarifies, “The nurse.”

The spiderling begins to feel even more anxious, then raises his voice. “But how come?” he protests, prompting his aunt to intervene.

“Peter stop… it’s okay. We’ll just come back as soon as they let us know.” she commands softly, to which the boy exhales in defeat.

She then directs her attention to Ned’s father. “We understand, you guys need your space for the time being.” May says compassionately.

The father smiles at the woman. “Thanks you two…” he says gratefully.

“It’s no problem at all, anytime…” she says courteously.

After taking a pause, May continues. “Sure feels like it’s been a long day hasn’t it?” she starts playfully, in an attempt to raise the mood a little.

Nathan lets out a light chuckle. “I’ll say… it’s all been so exhausting, and it’s not even three yet.” he says, beginning to cheer up.

“Yeah… I think this calls for some much needed rest. For all of us.” she says.

“You could say that again. I’m kidding, don’t.” the man says humorously, raising his arms in a joking manner.

Peter chuckles at that, and May glances to her nephew with a small smile. “There he is, that’s my happy-go-lucky kiddo.” she laughs, then pinches the boy’s cheek teasingly.

“Maaayyy…” Peter whines, as he gently swats her hand away, eliciting a short laugh from his aunt.

Ned’s father then claps his hands together in finalization. “Right. Well, I really should be getting back to my wife. And I’ll be sure to keep you guys updated yeah?” he starts, raising his thumbs up in inquiry.

“Absolutely. And please don’t hesitate to call if you guys need anything okay?” May replies.

“Yeah of course… Thanks so much May, and you too Peter, your support means a lot to us.” the man says. 

Peter then speaks up. “Don’t mention it Mr. Leeds, I’ll always have Ned’s back. And also... I’m really sorry for being so insensitive earlier, I’m just really worried about him is all.” the boy says apologetically.

“It’s okay Peter really, and thank you for that ya know... my son’s really lucky to have you.” Nathan states, holding his hand out to the boy for a fist bump.

The kid returns the gesture, colliding his fist with the man’s as he goes. “You bet sir.” he says with a grin. 

Ned’s father smiles back at him, then looks to May. “Alright then, well I don’t wanna keep you guys up. So I’ll be seeing you around alright?” he asks.

“Definitely.” she responds heartily.

At that, Nathan takes his leave, not before properly saying goodbye to the nephew and aunt duo.

“Bye Mr. Leeds!” Peter calls out, just as the man is a decent distance away.

“Give Rachel and Ned our best!” his aunt states.

“Sure thing!” Ned’s father says, just before he disappears out into the hall.

As the two are then left alone, the boy looks to his aunt expectantly.

“Alright, let’s go kiddo.” she instructs, to which they then leave to go home.

The second they exit the hospital, Peter takes a glance back to the facility, and something briefly catches his eye. 

From where he stands, the sun shines brightly on his face, hindering his vision. But for moment he’s able to make out a distant figure positioned next to a window… the same window that caught his attention earlier.

The boy blinks to readjust his sight, but as soon as he does, the form is no longer anywhere to be seen.

“Peter, come on.” May beckons, noticing her nephew’s daze.

The kid looks his aunt, and quickly walks over to catch up while simultaneously musing over what he just saw.

_ “Was that real…?” _ he wonders, silently hoping that it was a figment of his imagination.

_ “It almost looked like… a person…”  _ the boy thinks, just as he’s reached his aunt who gives him a look of worry.

“You okay?” his aunt inquires gently.

“Yeah.” he replies casually.

_ “It’s probably just the stress..” _ the kid justifies, unable to determine another explanation for that occurrence.

 

**Six days later...**

 

It’s in the middle of the day around one, and the spiderling is seen laying down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling of his room in peaceful silence.

“Peter?” his aunt’s voice calls.

“Yeah May?” he replies, taking a glance towards his closed door.

“I’m working late tonight, so I left dinner in the fridge in case you get hungry. Just heat it up later okay?” she says.

“Got it.” the boy starts, promptly furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Wait, how come you’re doing a longer shift?” he inquires.

“Cause it’s your birthday tomorrow silly, I’m not working on your special day.” his aunt states cheerfully.

Peter is about to let out a laugh, but then a realization hits him, reducing his demeanor as he turns to face away from the door.

His movement makes the mattress squeak in rhythm, drawing May’s attention.

“Sweetie? Are you okay?” the woman asks with concern.

“I’m fine.” the boy replies monotonically.

There’s a pause, and after another moment there’s a knock on his door.

“Can I come in?” she asks softly.

The boy sighs, but he complies. “Sure.” 

His door is then opened, revealing a work attired aunt who gradually walks over to her nephew’s bed.

She takes a seat on the empty space next to the boy, who glances at her in expectation.

May looks down to her nephew and sighs. “Peter… you know you can talk to me right?” she urges.

“I told you, I’m fine May.” the boy states, his reserve beginning to unwaver.

He looks over to the woman, whose face practically reads ‘cut the crap’. Eventually, the spiderling relents and voices himself.

“I just can’t stop thinking about Ned…” he confesses, eliciting an understanding look from his aunt. It’s been almost a week and they still haven’t received any confirmation from Ned’s parents regarding visitation or any progress for that matter. They can only guess that his friend is still in the process of treatment. And needless to say, it has taken an emotional toll on Peter. 

“Oh sweetie…” she begins, reaching to place hand over his shoulder. “I know… me too...” she says slowly.

“He was really looking forward to tomorrow ya know…?” the boy states sadly.

May then lifts Peter into a sitting position, and gently pulls him into a delicate hug. “Yeah… I know…” the woman says soothingly. 

The boy returns the embrace, allowing himself to be rocked back and forth as his aunt tries to comfort him.

A few minutes later, she pulls away and places both of her hands on Peter’s shoulders as she speaks.

“Hey… I have an idea.” she begins, prompting her nephew to raise his brows in anticipation.

“You remember those video diaries that you always made?” the boy’s aunt asks.

“Yeah…?” the kid replies in confusion, not knowing where May intends to go with this.

“So… I was thinking, maybe tomorrow you’d like to make one of your day to show Ned for when we visit?” the woman offers, a soft smile on her features.

At that, the boy perks up. “Really?” he asks cheerfully.

His aunt’s face brightens a bit more. “Of course, and you can even ask Tony if he wants to be a part of it. I’m sure he would, as if anyone could say no to this face.” his aunt states happily, booping her nephew’s nose as she does.

At the mention of his mentor, the spiderling briefly reminisces the first time he recorded himself with Tony.

_ “We should make an alibi video for your aunt. Anyway, you ready… Hey May, how you doing, what are you wearing? Something skimpy I hope…” _ he muses in his mind, nearly smirking at thought.

His train of thought is broken as May brings him back to reality.

“What do you think?” she asks confidently.

“It’s perfect, it’s awesome, Ned’s gonna love it for sure. Thanks May.” the boy says gratefully.

“No problem kiddo... ” his aunt pauses, pressing a kiss to her nephew’s temple as she gets herself up from the bed.

“Well, I gotta head to work now. You just hang tight okay?” she says.

“Yep alright.” the boy replies, as his guardian then proceeds to walk out of the room.

A few seconds later, he hears the front door open, indicating that she’s about to take her leave.

“Bye Peter!” his aunt says just before she exits.

“Bye May! Love you.” Peter replies.

“Love you more!” May responds cheekily as she closes the doorway.

The boy softly chuckles at that, lying back down on his bed in solitary bliss. He then, grabs his phone to contact his mentor.

Rather than calling, the spiderling opts to shoot him a text regarding the birthday plans, considering the off-chance that the man is busy with something SI related or what not. 

_ (Peter: Hey Tony just reminding you about tomorrow. We’re meeting at my place first but after that’s a surprise. Sorry no spoilers, Spiderman’s honor!) _

_ (Peter: Well not really, just Peter’s.) _

_ (Peter: Parker BTW.) _

_ (Peter: Anyway’s, I’m so excited ✊!) _

As he clicks send, he places the phone on his desk, not expecting an immediate answer. The boy then stretches his arms out, feeling a bit tired from lazing around. 

He decides that a nap is in order, and then closes his eyes as his body laxes into slumber.

 

**Around 6 p.m…**

 

The sound of ringing awakens Peter, who groans at the noise as he reluctantly lifts his body up.

His eyes remain closed as he reaches blindly for his phone, yawning before he raises the device to his ear.

Due to fatigue, he assumes it’s just his mentor getting back to him about the party, and without caring to check the caller I.D., he answers.

“Hello?” the boy says tiredly.

The response he gets is not what he expects.

“Mr. Parker.” an unknown feminine voice says.

The color drains from Peter’s face as a shiver is sent down his spine, shock pervading his body. He quickly overcomes it as he pulls the phone away from his ear to look at the I.D.

_ (Unknown number: ***-***-****) _

_ “Who is this?!” _ he thinks frantically, eyes widening as he places the device back against his ear.

“I’m sorry?” the boy attempts innocently, as if to persuade the other person that she’s got the wrong person.

She seems to see through the ruse, as she cuts right to the chase.

“It’s alright...” the woman starts, donning a gentler tone, not that it helped to calm him down in the slightest.

Peter waits for her next word, still apprehensive such that he can’t properly form a proper response.

He hears her sigh on the other end, and she continues. “I’m calling about your friend Ned Leeds. It’s to my understanding that you know he had accident last week. I want to help you fill in some blanks.” she states factly.

The boy feels his heart skips a beat, no longer caring that this person is a complete stranger, and quickly speaks up.

“Tell me more! Please!” he exclaims, desperation his voice.

There’s another pause, and after what feels like ages the woman finally responds. “Meet me at the hospital where Mr. Leeds is checked in and I’ll explain more then. If we continue like this we’ll risk compromise. See you then… Peter...” she states, her voice softening as she concludes, promptly ending the call.

“No wait!” the spiderling starts to protest, but to no avail as the line’s disconnected.

The boy hastily gets up from his bed, and rummages through his room for his Spiderman mask. Hoping to get K.A.R.E.N. to scan the number in an attempt get more information on the unknown woman. 

It’s not until he finds his makeshift mask that he remembers his suit is currently with Tony.

“AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!” he screams, frustration palpable in his voice.

With no other choice, the boy grabs a grey hoodie and sneakers from his closet, clumsily putting on his attire.

Luckily, despite his anger, he’s rational enough to not suit up as Spiderman. This person knew he was Peter Parker, risking his identity any further wasn’t worth it if that was  _ all _ she knew him as.

“Shit… Just…! Dammit…!” the spiderling hisses as he storms out of his apartment, making his way to the nearest train station, determined to get answers.

Unbeknownst to Peter however, everything only goes south from here on...

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how I will progress with this story quite yet, as I feel this first chapter is just a trial until I really figure out what I wanna do with it. Thank you for reading and constructive criticism is appreciated!


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